* Spot palladium hits 18-mth high, platinum at 17-mth peak
* Gold's gains seen limited as euro remains under pressure
* Holdings by SPDR Gold Trust <GLD> fall 0.914 tonnes
(Updates prices)
By Humeyra Pamuk
LONDON, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Platinum and palladium prices
rallied to their highest in over 17 months on Monday, helped by
investment demand after the launch of U.S.-based exchange-traded
funds this month.
Analysts saw expect platinum and palladium, used in
catalytic converters, to rise further, after gaining 14 percent
and 28 percent respectively since late December.
The rise of platinum group metals (PGM) and the dollar's dip
against a basket of currencies lifted gold, but analysts said
fresh impetus was needed to push bullion higher as there was
little support from currency markets with the euro under
pressure. []
Spot platinum <XPT=> rose as high as $1,626.00 per ounce,
its highest since August 2008, and was at $1,619 an ounce by
1204 GMT, versus $1,596.50 an ounce late in New York on Friday.
Spot palladium <XPD=> rose as high as $457.50 an ounce, its
highest since early July 2008, and was $455 from Friday's
$452.50 an ounce.
"We see follow-on buying from the launch of ETFs. There's
good interest in both metals," said precious metals strategist
Tom Kendall at Mitsubishi. "For palladium $500 an ounce is a
very obvious target and wholly achievable in the three to six
months."
Kendall said the market was more bullish on palladium than
platinum because of the former's fundamentals. Palladium is
cheaper than platinum and is likely to be preferred by the auto
industry as it recovers.
"The extraordinary popularity of these investment vehicles
illustrates: a) consensus over the favourable fundamental
outlook for the PGMs; and b) the appetite for investment in the
precious metals space has yet to be satiated," Morgan Stanley
said in a research note.
FRESH IMPETUS NEEDED
Gold prices were up slightly but rises were limited as the
euro remained under pressure due to Greece's financial problems
and concerns over their potential impact on the single currency.
Investors have also kept to the sidelines because New York
markets were closed on Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Spot gold <XAU=> inched up to $1,135.85 per ounce compared
with $1,129.90 an ounce late in New York on Friday. U.S. gold
futures for February delivery <GCG0> were at $1,135.90 per
ounce, up 0.5 percent.
"Until we get fresh momentum based on an event or data, gold
is going to continue to struggle as long as the dollar is being
preferred versus the euro," Kendall said.
Concerns over Greece and its ballooning fiscal deficit
weighed on the single currency and market players will keep a
close eye on comments from euro zone finance ministers meeting
on Monday. []
Spot gold hit a five-week high of $1,161.50 on Jan. 11. Gold
has fallen 2.3 percent since then, as a rise in the greenback
hurt investor sentiment.
The high prices of gold has hurt Italian jewellers, who are
now turning to alternative materials such as leather, textiles
and ceramics to offset the high prices, an industry executive at
the Vicenza trade fair said. []
For stories from the Vicenza fair, click on []
Holdings by the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded
fund, SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, fell 0.914 tonnes to 1,112.836
tonnes on Jan 15. []
For a graphic on the SPDR holdings, click:
http://link.reuters.com/teh24h
Silver <XAG=> prices were at $18.62 an ounce versus $18.36
an ounce late in New York on Friday.
(Additional reporting by Risa Maeda in Tokyo, Editing by Sue
Thomas)
