UPDATE 1-PRECIOUS-Gold ticks higher, but euro zone fears fade

                                
 * Gold to rise to $1,403/oz -technicals [ID:nL3E6N302S]
                                
 * Coming Up: U.S. non-farm payrolls Nov; 1330 GMT

 (Updates prices, adds quotes)	
                                
 By Lewa Pardomuan	
                                
 SINGAPORE, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Gold gained on Friday to hold 
near its strongest in almost three weeks as bargain hunting 
helped the metal defy a rebound in the euro, waning Europe 
debt concerns and upbeat U.S. data.	
                                
 The European Central Bank resisted pressure on Thursday to 
commit to a major bond-buying programme to contain the euro 
zone debt crisis, but traders said the ECB had been quietly 
buying bonds anyway. [
                                
 "I don't see many jewellery makers around these days. The 
price is too high. It's towards the year-end and most of the 
orders have already been filled," said Leung, adding that gold 
could find resistance around $1,400. 	

                                
   U.S. gold futures for February added $2.2 to   
$1,391.5 an ounce. 	
                                
  The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, 
SPDR Gold Trust , said its holdings rose to 1,298.447 
tonnes by Dec 2 from 1,293.891 tonnes on Dec 1. The holdings 
hit a record at 1,320.436 tonnes on June 29. 	
                                
 Spot gold will rise to a projected target at $1,403 
per ounce as the current upward  wave "c" has not completed. A 
Fibonacci projection points to $1,403, the 100 percent level, 
which may exert a strong resistance to prevent a  further 
rebound, according to Wang Tao, who is a Reuters market 
analyst for commodities and energy technicals.	
                                
 For a 24-hour gold technical outlook:	
                                
 http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/WT/20100312093140.jpg 	
                                
 The euro retained its momentum on Friday, keeping gains 
made after talk the European Central Bank aggressively bought 
euro zone periphery debt, even though it avoided explicitly 
committing itself to ramping up bond buying. 
                                
 Invetors awaited the release of U.S. payrolls data later 
in the day, with surprisingly strong U.S. housing numbers 
adding to budding optimism on the U.S. economy and sending 
equities markets higher. 	
                                
 Silver tracked gold higher, while palladium 
slipped after rallying to its highest since early 2001 on 
Thursday, but firmer equities and physical buying helped 
cushion the fall. Platinum edged up. 	
                                
 The world's largest silver-backed exchange-traded fund, 
Shares Silver Trust  , said its holdings slipped to 
10,778.68 tonnes by Dec 2  from 10,782.69 tonnes on Dec 1. The 
holdings jumped to an all-time high of 10,893.68  tonnes on 
Nov 23. [ID:nL3E6N201A','yes')">ID:nLDE6B10I4	
                                
 Spot gold rose $6.05 an ounce to $1,390.80 an ounce 
by 0309 GMT. It had jumped to its highest since Nov 12 around 
$1,398 on Thursday before falling back. Bullion was below a 
lifetime high around $1,424 struck in early November.	
                                
 "We can say there are some bargain hunters at the lower 
end. There's not too much liquidity in the market and a little 
bit of buying moves up gold," said Ronald Leung, director of 
Lee Cheong Gold Dealers in Hong Kong.	
                                
 "I don't see many jewellery makers around these days. The 
price is too high. It's towards the year-end and most of the 
orders have already been filled," said Leung, adding that gold 
could find resistance around $1,400. 	
                                
   U.S. gold futures for February added $2.2 to   
$1,391.5 an ounce. 	
                                
  The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, 
SPDR Gold Trust , said its holdings rose to 1,298.447 
tonnes by Dec 2 from 1,293.891 tonnes on Dec 1. The holdings 
hit a record at 1,320.436 tonnes on June 29. 	
                                
 Spot gold will rise to a projected target at $1,403 
per ounce as the current upward  wave "c" has not completed. A 
Fibonacci projection points to $1,403, the 100 percent level, 
which may exert a strong resistance to prevent a  further 
rebound, according to Wang Tao, who is a Reuters market 
analyst for commodities and energy technicals.	
                                
 For a 24-hour gold technical outlook:	
                                
 http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/WT/20100312093140.jpg 	
                                
 The euro retained its momentum on Friday, keeping gains 
made after talk the European Central Bank aggressively bought 
euro zone periphery debt, even though it avoided explicitly 
committing itself to ramping up bond buying. 
                                
 Invetors awaited the release of U.S. payrolls data later 
in the day, with surprisingly strong U.S. housing numbers 
adding to budding optimism on the U.S. economy and sending 
equities markets higher. 	
                                
 Silver tracked gold higher, while palladium 
slipped after rallying to its highest since early 2001 on 
Thursday, but firmer equities and physical buying helped 
cushion the fall. Platinum edged up. 	
                                
 The world's largest silver-backed exchange-traded fund, 
Shares Silver Trust  , said its holdings slipped to 
10,778.68 tonnes by Dec 2  from 10,782.69 tonnes on Dec 1. The 
holdings jumped to an all-time high of 10,893.68  tonnes on 
Nov 23. [ID:nL3E6N201A] 	
                                
 "Demand for silver from the industrial sector is slowing 
down, but there's a steady interest in palladium," said a 
dealer in Tokyo. "Platinum price is just too high. There's no 
interest." 	
                                
 Platinum and palladium often track equities because of 
their industrial demand, mostly in auto catalysts. 	
                                
 Japan's Nikkei share average hit a six-month high 
on Friday after a stream of positive U.S. retail and housing 
data raised hopes for a swift recovery in the world's biggest 
economy. 	
                                
 	
  Precious metals prices at 0309 GMT                      
  Metal             Last    Change  Pct chg  YTD pct chg  
 Turnover                                                 
  Spot Gold        1390.80    6.05   +0.44     26.93      
  Spot Silver        28.73    0.22   +0.77     70.71      
  Spot Platinum    1712.24    3.75   +0.22     16.72      
  Spot Palladium    758.00   -1.22   -0.16     86.93      
  TOCOM Gold       3752.00  -21.00   -0.56     15.13      
                                
36509                                                  
  TOCOM Platinum   4665.00   10.00   +0.21      6.48      
                                
12334                                                  
  TOCOM Silver       77.50   -0.20   -0.26     49.90      
                                
 1383                                                  
  TOCOM Palladium  2050.00   32.00   +1.59     75.97      
                                
 1058                                                  
  Euro/Dollar       1.3201                                
  Dollar/Yen         83.70                                
                                
                                                       
  TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per      
 ounce.                                                   
	
(Editing by Clarence Fernandez)	
 
    	
 
                                
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