* Spot gold breaches above 200-day moving average
    * Spot platinum hits four-week high on supply concerns
    * Spot gold may peak around $1,650-technicals
    * Coming up: Germany annual GDP, 2011  0700 GMT

     By Rujun Shen	
    SINGAPORE, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Gold inched up on
Wednesday to flirt with a key resistance level, shrugging off a
stronger dollar, as persistent uncertainties on the euro zone
debt crisis lured investors to the safety of bullion.	
    Bright economic prospects offered by Alcoa's upbeat outlook
helped push Asian shares higher, although investors refrained
from riskier bets before Italy and Spain put up bond auctions,
seen as a test of investors' confidence in the euro zone.
 	
    Gold rose in tandem with the dollar, which edged up against
a basket of currencies, as the euro declined against the
greenback in cautious trade a day ahead of a European Central
Bank policy meeting and Spain's debt sales. 	
    " While the dollar may not see a significant correction soon,
and is likely to continue to gain against the euro as the
eurozone crisis persists, the negative effects of a stronger
dollar on gold are likely to be largely diminished in 2012,
allowing the bullish macro drivers to dictate price action once
again,"  Societe Generale said in a research note. 	
    The prospects of aggressive monetary easing from the world's
key central banks, including the European Central Bank, will
keep sentiment for gold and silver bullish, it also said.	
    Spot gold edged up 0.3 percent to $1,636.89 an ounce
by 0331 GMT, extending a rise of more than 1 percent in the
previous session.	
    U.S. gold gained 0.4 percent to $1,638.	
    Technical outlook for the day suggested that spot gold could
peak around $1,650, said Reuters market analyst Wang Tao.
 	
    	
     	
    For the second straight session, spot gold broke above the
200-day moving average, a key support-turned-resistance level,
offering hopes that bullion may resume an uptrend that started
in 2008.	
    " Technically we are still in a consolidation period after
the record high in September, and this phase will likely end in
end-February or early March,"  said Dominic Schnider, head of
commodity research at UBS Wealth Management.	
    " Clearly the uptrend will prevail." 	
    But in the short term gold may be capped at the $1,680
level, he added.	
    Platinum group metals extended gains into a third straight
day due to concerns on supply disruption in South Africa, as the
national grid Eskom warned about extremely tight power supply in
January. 	
    Spot platinum rose more than 1 percent to a four-week
high of $1,478.25, before easing to $1,476.49. Spot rose
0.7 percent to $638.	
    The gold-platinum spread narrowed to just below $170 an
ounce, its smallest in two weeks. The price of platinum has been
consistently lower than that of gold since last September, as
gloomy economic outlook dampened sentiment on platinum, while
gold's safe-haven appeal helped limit a price decline

* Perky gold gets further lift from rising euro

* Spot prices break back above 200-day moving average

* Platinum hits 1-month high, palladium climbs nearly 5 pct (Updates prices, adds comment)

By Jan Harvey

LONDON, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Gold rose towards $1,640 an ounce on Tuesday and other precious metals rallied, with a rebound in the euro versus the dollar making dollar-priced assets more attractive to holders of other  currencies, and after bullion breached a key chart level.

Gold's break above its 200-day moving average, which gave way in mid-December, at $1,634 an ounce prompted fresh buying, with technical analysts saying a close above this level could rekindle upwards momentum in the metal.

Spot gold was up 1.7 percent at $1,637.71 an ounce at 1505 GMT and has climbed nearly 5 percent from the start of the year. U.S. gold  futuresfor February delivery were up by$30.00 an ounce at $1,638.10.

Analysts say a decline in speculative net long positions -- or bets on higher prices -- and a 10 percent drop in gold prices last month have left the metal with plenty of scope to rise.

" In terms of precious metals, there is still a lot of catch-up potential," said Commerzbank analyst Daniel Briesemann. " Today we're seeing a bit of a short squeeze in almost all the precious metals, especially platinum and palladium."

" If you look at the (commodity futures) statistics, you can see that long positions in platinum and palladium are at least at two-year lows, which gives room for very significant price increases if you need to cover your positions."

Meanwhile the euro hit session highs versus the dollar on Tuesday as demand for the single currency from sovereign buyers and macro funds, which are designed to profit from economic events, triggered stop-loss orders on short positions.

Data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed record euro net short positions, and analysts expect the single currency to benefit from bouts of short-covering. The euro is down 1 percent so far this year.

European shares also rose after positive corporate results, while safe-haven German bunds fell. Despite this, sentiment towards European assets remained fragile as investors worried about  euro zone  debt levels.

" Given the enormity of the debt crisis we feel there is still plenty of room for investors and sovereign wealth funds to diversify into gold," said ScotiaMocatta in a note.

On the physical side of the market, buyers in India, the world's biggest gold consumer, took advantage of a drop in local prices to a one-week low to stock up ahead of the wedding season beginning later this month, dealers in Mumbai said.

" Buying will continue until March," said Harshad Ajmera, proprietor of JJ Gold House in Kolkata.

India's central bank has allowed four more banks to import precious metals, a move that would boost competition and help reduce premiums in the world's number one importer of bullion.

Silver was up 3.6 percent at $30.04 an ounce, largely tracking gold.

PLATINUM PROSPERS

Platinum group metals were the biggest risers in percentage terms, with spot platinum up 2.4 percent to $1,458.74 an ounce and spot palladium up 3.9 percent at $636.85 an ounce. Platinum earlier hit a one-month high at $1,467.50.

The gold/platinum ratio -- a measure of the number of platinum ounces needed to buy an ounce of gold, which has typically held below 1 -- retreated to 1.12 after hitting its highest in at least 25 years on Monday at 1.16.

As well as riding on gold's coat-tails, platinum was benefiting from reports that Eskom, the power utility of major platinum producer South Africa, had warned of a power shortage.

Platinum's cheap price compared with gold and the threat of supply constraints from South Africa have made it attractive to buyers, analysts said, although stocks are still relatively plentiful and the demand outlook in Europe is soft.

" Near term, the possibility of a short-covering rally cannot be ignored. But it doesn't really change the obstacles that platinum will likely encounter this year," UBS said in a note.

" Fundamental support alone, from the supply side in this case, is clearly not a big enough reason to prompt investors to return to platinum in their droves," it added.

" We have few doubts that platinum will be trading much higher than current levels in six months from now, but for now, the potential for further negative twists and turns in the wider macro environment presents too strong of a challenge for investors to rush back in." (Editing by Keiron Henderson) 

* Softer dollar lifts gold from early lows

* Merkel, Sarkozy meeting eyed as  euro zone  crisis simmers

* Gold/platinum ratio highest in more than 25 years 

By Jan Harvey

LONDON, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Gold recovered from lows on Monday, lifted by gains in the euro versus the dollar after French and German leaders said there had been progress on the region's fiscal integration, but its rise was capped by caution after the metal's hefty losses last month.

Spot gold was little changed at $1,617.84 an ounce at 1441 GMT against $1,616.98 late in New York on Friday, off an earlier low of $1,604.44.

U.S. gold  futures  for February delivery were up $1 an ounce at $1,617.90.

While rock-bottom interest rates and worries over debt and growth are supportive of the metal longer term, confidence in gold's ability to revisit last year's record high has been shaken by a 10 percent price drop in December, analysts said.

" Gold is finding better support, but it has been very rangebound since the start of the year," said Standard Bank analyst Walter de Wet.

" Physical demand has improved but we don't think it will push the price much higher than $1,650 (and) buying comes though when prices dip below $1,600," he added. " I think that is going to keep it fairly rangebound."

The euro recovered from the 16-month low it hit against the dollar on Monday to rise 0.2 percent, but worries over sovereign funding kept investors bearish. A softer dollar tends to benefit gold, which has risen 3.7 percent so far this month.

" It's hard to point to any negative factors for gold," said Saxo Bank senior analyst Ole Hansen. " Speculative length can be increased quite a bit as it is relatively low, and the dollar could be positioned for a bit of weakening. Euro short positioning rose to another record last week."

Elsewhere Philipp Hildebrand resigned as Swiss National Bank chief on Monday, in the wake of a scandal over a controversial currency trade made by his wife just weeks before he set a cap on the soaring Swiss franc.

Money managers cut their net length in gold futures and options for a third straight week as the price of bullion fell to its lowest in nearly six months, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission figures showed on Friday.

Net speculative length in gold, which reflects bets on higher prices, is now at its lowest in two years, analysts said.

IMPACT MUTED

This decline in net speculative length is likely to mute the impact of index rebalancing this week, which will see last year's outperforming assets sold and underperformers bought. Gold rose more than 10 percent in 2011.

" If the market was very long right now, index selling would make gold considerably more vulnerable to the downside than we expect it to be," UBS said in a note last week.

In the short term, gold's continued recovery from December's five-month low will be reliant on it retaking its 200-day moving average. It fell through this key technical level, currently just above $1,633 an ounce, in mid-December.

On the physical markets, trading volume on benchmark gold contracts on the Shanghai Gold Exchange remained firm on Monday after spiking to a historic high at 12,855 kg last Wednesday.

Indian gold traders continued to stock up, capitalising on a 7 percent fall in prices from the beginning of December.

India and  China  are by far the biggest consumers of physical gold, responsible for almost half of all global gold fabrication demand last year.

Among other precious metals, silver was up 0.9 percent at $28.96 an ounce, while platinum was up 0.1 percent at $1,400.74 an ounce and palladium was flat at $612.55 an ounce.

Gold retained its historically unusual premium over platinum into a sixth month in January, after hitting parity with the white metal for the first time in 2-1/2 years in August.

The gold/platinum ratio, or the number of platinum ounces needed to buy an ounce of gold, reached its highest in more than 25 years on Monday, at 1.16.

" Downside risks to the global growth outlook, at least over the next few months, should mean that platinum group metals prices will under-perform," said Deutsche Bank in a note.

" Indeed, we expect platinum to trade at a discount to gold throughout this year." (Reporting by Jan Harvey Editing by Anthony Barker and Jason Neely)

* Dollar index rises to 16-month high, pressuring commodities
* Spot gold could fall to $1,589 - technicals
* Coming up: German industrial output, November  1100 GMT

    By Rujun Shen	
    SINGAPORE, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Gold prices lost more
than half a percent on Monday, after the momentum that pushed
prices up 3 percent last week fizzled as the dollar firmed with
growing worries about the euro zone debt crisis.	
    Concerns about the debt crisis overshadowed upbeat data out
of the United States which showed unemployment rate fell to a
near three-year low, evidence that economic growth is gaining
steam. 	
    After ignoring the dollar's strength for two days last week,
gold buckled under the dollar, which rose to a near 16-month
high against a basket of currencies at the expense of a battered
euro. 	
    " There is a somewhat weaker trend across the commodities, as
the strength of the dollar is playing a role in limiting
appetite,"  said Nick Trevethan, senior commodity strategist at
ANZ in Singapore.	
    The positive U.S. employment report also weighed on
sentiment on gold, as it lessens the chance of further easing
from the U.S. Federal Reserve, added Trevethan.	
    " But Europe is still a basket case and investors are hoping
to see more easing out of the European Central Bank (ECB) at
some point." 	
    Investors are pinning their hopes on further monetary easing
from the Fed and ECB to propel gold to new highs this year.	
    Spot gold dropped 0.6 percent to $1,606.99 an ounce
by 0319 GMT, on course for a second straight session of losses.	
    The most-active U.S. gold futures contract lost half
a percent to $1,608.	
    Technical analysis suggested that spot gold could drop to
$1,589 an ounce during the day, said Reuters market analyst Wang
Tao. 	
    	
    The dollar rally also kept a lid on Asia's appetite for
bullion.	
    " Gold is not cheap in local currencies in Asia and we only
see some light buying,"  said a Singapore-based dealer, and added
that gold bar premiums rose to $1.70 an ounce above spot prices,
from $1.30 a week earlier.	
    The euro zone will kick off a busy week with a meeting
between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President
Nicolas Sarkozy on measures to boost jobs in debt-laden states.
 	
    Market participants will also closely watch debt auctions
later this week by Italy and Spain, seen as a test if investors
are willing to pour more money into the euro zone, now in its
third year of the debt crisis. 	
    Money managers reduced their net length in U.S. gold futures
and options for a third straight week in the week
ended Jan. 3, down to its lowest in nearly two years, said the
U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.