* Gold firms on Greece worries, palladium near 2-year high
* Platinum at highest since August 2008, euro drops
* Coming Up: Weekly U.S. mortgage market index; 1100 GMT
(Updates prices, adds quotes)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, April 7 (Reuters) - Gold firmed on Wednesday as
renewed worries about debt-ridden Greece and volatile
currencies boosted the metal's safe-haven appeal, while
platinum caught up with its sister metal to hit its strongest
since August 2008.
While bullion hovered above the closely-watched 14-, 50-
and 100-day moving averages, a firmer U.S. dollar could still
induce a correction and dealers said the metal faced a stiff
resistance at a March high around $1,144 an ounce.
"I think the market is wary that at some stage, the
safe-haven story will probably abate. Potentially, there's some
downside risk if safe-haven issues start to ease," said Mark
Pervan, senior commodities analyst at ANZ in Melbourne.
"But at the moment, the market is taking the latest Greek
news as the reason to be buying. The catalyst is being
safe-haven but if the dollar continues to strengthen, it's
going to limit further gains."
Spot gold <XAU=> was at $1,135.00 an ounce by 0326 GMT, up
$1.80 from New York's notional close on Tuesday, when it hit a
1-month high of $1,138.40 an ounce despite a rising U.S. dollar
against the euro.
U.S. gold futures for June delivery <GCM0> hardly moved at
$1,135.2 an ounce after hitting a 1-month high the previous
session. Gold in euro terms <XAUEUR=R> held near record.
The euro <EUR=> fell to around $1.3380 following reports
that Greece wanted to renegotiate a joint EU-International
Monetary Fund aid deal reached last month. Greece denied the
reports, but that has had little impact. []
Thinly-traded palladium <XPD=> rose $2.25 to $506.75 an
ounce, having risen to its highest since March 2008 at $508.50
on Tuesday on short covering by autocatalyst makers, investment
demand and hopes for a global economic recovery.
Platinum <XPT=> hit a 20-month high of $1,716 an ounce
before easing slightly.
"These two metals will perform better when you see rising
industrial production. That means stronger catalytic demand and
so forth," said Pervan of the ANZ.
"The recent economic data out of the U.S. particularly has
probably been a good encouraging sign for these two markets."
The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR
Gold Trust, said its holdings stood at 1,129.823 tonnes as of
April 6, unchanged from the previous business day. []
Some dealers noted buying from investors but low volumes
meant bullion was prone to sharp movements. "I think gold is
also helped a bit by the Fed saying the interest rates will
remain low for a longer period," said a dealer in Hong Kong.
The U.S. Federal Reserve could keep interest rates
ultra-low for even longer than investors anticipate if the
outlook worsens or inflation drops, minutes from the central
bank's last meeting suggested. []
Precious metals prices at 0326 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 1135.00 1.80 +0.16 3.59
Spot Silver 17.96 0.08 +0.45 6.71
Spot Platinum 1714.50 17.00 +1.00 16.87
Spot Palladium 506.75 2.25 +0.45 24.97
TOCOM Gold 3446.00 27.00 +0.79 5.74
34802
TOCOM Platinum 5175.00 90.00 +1.77 18.12
25761
TOCOM Silver 54.80 0.00 +0.00 6.00
276
TOCOM Palladium 1535.00 35.00 +2.33 31.76
667
Euro/Dollar 1.3383
Dollar/Yen 94.13
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by)
