* Receding euro zone debt concern weighs on gold
* Palladium nudges 10-year highs
* Coming Up: U.S. jobless weekly claims; 1330 GMT
(Updates with comment, details; refreshes prices)
By Amanda Cooper
LONDON, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Gold fell on Thursday, succumbing
to a flurry of profit-taking after surprisingly weak U.S. jobs
data briefly sent the price to one-week highs, although
persistent concern over the euro zone helped contain the slide.
Palladium rallied to fresh 10-year highs above $800 an
ounce, having risen by 8 percent so far this week, driven by
expectations of faster global growth, stable investment demand
and optimism stemming from the Detroit auto show.
Debt sales by some of the euro zone's most economically
fragile members such as Portugal and Spain have met with better
demand from bond investors and tempered some of the concern that
Lisbon and possibly even Madrid may need to tap into an
international rescue fund for cash. []
Offsetting some of the relief was an unexpected jump in
weekly U.S. jobless claims, which staged their largest rise in
six months. This lifted gold to a session peak of $1,392.80 an
ounce, its highest since January 4. []
By 1535 GMT spot gold <XAU=> had surrendered these gains and
was down 0.5 percent on the day at $1,380.10 an ounce, falling
for the first time after three consecutive days of rallies after
a short-covering rally ran out of steam.
U.S. gold futures for February delivery <GCG1> were last
down 0.2 percent at $1,382.60 an ounce.
"The main driver is obviously this European debt situation
has relaxed a bit again with the auctions and the euro
subsequently has found some footing and today has been one big
exercise in squeezing shorts out of the market," said Saxo Bank
analyst Ole Hansen. "That move gave gold the initial boost."
"I don't see (the decline) escalating into anything further,
we'll just have to be content with a period of range trading."
EURO UP
The euro rose against the dollar for a fourth straight day
in a rally that could continue after this week's solid Spanish
and Portuguese bond sales. []
The single European currency was supported by German Finance
Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble who said on Wednesday that euro zone
countries were working on a "comprehensive package", which maybe
agreed by February or March, to solve the bloc's debt crisis.
[]
Reflecting the retrenchment in investment demand for gold,
holdings of gold in the world's largest gold exchange-traded
fund, the SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, were unchanged around their
lowest since June, while ETF Securities' London-listed gold fund
saw redemptions on Wednesday. []
"The bounce gold has had in the past few days seems to be
fizzling out as sovereign debt concerns take a back seat. With
so many gold bulls already heavily invested, traders are
beginning to ask where the next wave of buying is going to come
from?" wrote Manoj Ladwa, a senior trader at ETX Capital.
In the physical market, dealers noted purchases from main
consumer India as well as China, which could offer support for
cash gold. Premiums for gold bars were at two-year highs in
Singapore and Hong Kong. <GOLD/ASIA1>
"There are talks the Indian government is looking to
increase tax on gold imports, so locals are looking to stock up
beforehand. They are moving into coins and gold bars," said a
dealer in Singapore.
"Local demand from China is firm before the Lunar New Year
and buying interest from Turkey is also strong."
Gold has risen by nearly 1 percent this week, due to the
jitters over the euro zone's debt problems, but remains nearly
3.5 percent below the record $1,430.95 struck in December.
Platinum and palladium have found renewed favour among
investors recently, as holdings of metal in the larger ETFs
remain near record levels, while optimism grows over the outlook
for the auto market this year, a key source of demand for both
metals.
Palladium is trading around its highest since March 2001,
above $800 an ounce.
French carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroen <PEUP.PA> said on
Thursday it expects markets in China and Latin America to rise
this year after growth outside Europe helped its own 2010
vehicle sales grow 13 percent to a record. []
Palladium, which is consumed primarily by gasoline-powered
vehicles used largely in North America and emerging economies,
virtually doubled in price last year as investors prepared for
car markets in countries like China, Brazil and India to grow.
The spot price <XPD=> was last up 0.7 percent at $813.22 an
ounce, having hit a 10-year high of $821.47 earlier in the day.
Platinum <XPT=> meanwhile rose 0.9 percent to $1,814.50,
having also reached its highest since July 2008 at $1,826.74.
Silver <XAG=> fell 1.0 percent to $29.33 an ounce, echoing
the softness in the gold price, while the gold/silver ratio
ticked up to 47.3 from 46.7 the day before.
(Additional reporting by Lewa Pardomuan in Singapore; editing
by Alison Birrane)
