* Receding euro zone debt concern weighs on gold
* Palladium nudges 10-year highs
* Coming Up: U.S. jobless weekly claims; 1330 GMT
(Updates prices)
By Amanda Cooper
LONDON, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Gold eased on Thursday, pulling
back from the previous session's one-week highs, as a series of
successful euro zone bond auctions erased some safe-haven demand
for the metal, although consumer demand remained fairly buoyant.
Palladium nudged at 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. []
Against this backdrop, spot gold <XAU=> fell for the first
time following three straight days of gains to $1,379.00 an
ounce, showing a 0.6 percent decline on the day, by 1212 GMT.
U.S. gold futures for February delivery <GCG1> were down 0.4
percent at $1,379.60.
"Risk aversion is coming down further, so this is leading to
a decline in gold prices, especially because of the need for a
safe haven is not that strong at the moment," said Commerzbank
analyst Daniel Briesemann.
"But this should be short-lived because in the case of
Portugal for example, it's quite significant refinancing costs
are still of concern," he said.
EURO EDGES UP
The euro hit one-month highs against the Swiss franc
<EURCHF=> and edged up against the dollar, lifted by speculation
that measures to control the euro zone debt crisis may be on
their way.
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, thanks 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 flat at $807.47 an ounce,
having hit a 10-year high of $814.00 overnight.
Platinum <XPT=> meanwhile eased 0.4 percent to $1,791.5,
still near its highest since early November.
Silver <XAG=> fell 1.2 percent to $29.29 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 Sue Thomas)
