* 110 billion-euro plan for Greece fails to impress
* Non-dollar gold prices near record highs
* Investors expecting further gains for bullion
(Changes dateline, adds quotes, updates prices)
By Veronica Brown
LONDON, May 3 (Reuters) - Gold was broadly steady near
recent 2010 highs in Europe on Monday, with prices keeping their
safe-haven cachet, as a 110 billion-euro aid plan for Greece
failed to quell wider concerns on euro zone debt.
Spot gold <XAU=> was quoted at $1,178.05 an ounce at 0923
GMT, having hit a 2010 high late last week at $1,181.05 an
ounce. The price stood at $1,177.25 late in New York on Friday.
Gold was also holding near record highs hit last week in
euro <XAUEUR=R>, sterling <XAUGBP=R> and Swiss franc <XAUCHF=R>
terms. Silver <XAG=> took its lead from gold, firming slightly
to $18.61 from $18.59 on Friday.
European finance ministers triggered a record 110 billion
euro ($147 billion) bailout for debt-stricken Greece on Sunday
after Athens committed itself to years of painful austerity.
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But markets have broadly been unimpressed, with the euro
failing to hold initial gains and stock markets falling as fears
about the viability of the largest ever bailout of a country
rattled the very investors it was meant to soothe.
"The financial aid package is only buying time, the
long-term problems still exist. It also seems that market
players had expected a larger package," said Daniel Briesemann,
commodity analyst at Commerzbank.
"I definitely expect the gold price to reach new highs this
week in euros, Swiss francs and pounds sterling," he added.
SCEPTICISM
While European markets contained a dose of scepticism on the
Greek package, U.S. stock market futures were pointing to a
positive start, which may weigh slightly on prices later in the
day.
U.S. stock futures <SPc1> were up 0.2 percent. However oil
prices were also reflecting the wider worries about the euro
zone debt problems -- shedding gains made in Asian trade <CLc1>.
Trading activity was expected to remain fairly thin on
Monday with Britain, Japan, China and Thailand closed on Monday
for public holidays.
U.S. June gold futures <GCM0> were marginally easier at
$1,178.60 an ounce.
Gold gained almost 6 percent in April, its biggest one-month
rise since November, as the credit ratings downgrades of Greece,
Spain and Portugal unleashed a wave of risk aversion,
channelling money into gold.
Based on Reuters technical data, gold is on a bullish trend
towards $1,261 per ounce.[] On Friday, prices were
less than $50 away from record highs hit late last year at
$1,226.10.
In other precious metals, platinum <XPT=> slipped to
$1,727.50 from $1,739.50 quoted late on Friday in New York,
while palladium <XPD=> also fell to $541.50 an ounce from
$551.50.
Both metals have seen a setback in line with risk aversion
across other key commodity markets as investors, worried about
the bottom line effect of the euro zone concerns, backed away
from so-called riskier assets.
The platinum group metals, used mainly to clean auto
emissions, have benefitted from expectations for auto sales to
motor out of crisis mode this year.
"A deterioration in physical demand cannot really be ruled
out in view of the debt-crisis and ETF purchases, not just in
the USA, are also showing little dynamic," Heraeus said in a
research note on platinum.
(Additional reporting by James Regan in Sydney; editing by Sue
Thomas)
