SINGAPORE, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Gold edged down on
Wednesday from a 2-1/2-week high as concerns about Greece's
ability to implement an unpopular bailout deal balanced out the
gains triggered by the actual agreement, and slower factory
activity in China contributed to the fall.	
    Spot gold rose to $1,759.84 an ounce in early trade,
its highest level since February 3, before reversing course to
fall 0.2 percent to $1,755.16 an ounce by 0330 GMT.	
    U.S. gold was little changed at $1,757.	
    Cash gold staged its biggest one-day rise in two weeks on
Tuesday, climbing 1.5 percent along with riskier assets after
euro zone finance ministers gave the greenlight to the
130-billion euro bailout for Greece. 	
    The euphoria quickly faded, however, as worries about
implementation resurfaced, and data pointing at a continuous
contraction of China's massive manufacturing sector added to the
gloom. 	
    Gold has been seesawing in the range between $1,700 and
$1,760 since late January, tracking Greece's torturous path to
securing the bailout, while physical demand provided limited
support.	
    "We don't see a substantial amount of enquiries in the
physical market, either from the industrial or the jewellery
sector," said Dick Poon, manager of precious metals at Heraeus
in Hong Kong.	
    China's physical demand has slowed since the Lunar New Year
celebrations in January, and India's demand from its jewellery
sector is also declining, Poon added.	
    Technical analysis suggested that spot gold could break
above $1,760 and trade in the range between $1,766 and $1,771
during the day, said Reuters market analyst Wang Tao.
    INDONESIA SCRAP SELLING	
    The gains in gold prices over the past few days have
triggered some scrap selling, especially from Indonesia, dealers
said.	
    "Yesterday, the domestic prices in Indonesia were much lower
than the international market, and people were taking advantage
of the price disparity," said a Singapore-based dealer.	
    Gold bar premiums in Singapore dipped to $0.7-$1 an ounce
from previously $1.20, as a result, she added.	
    Spot platinum pierced through the 300-day moving
average and hit $1,701.5 an ounce, its highest in nearly five
months, before retracing slightly to $1,696.50.	
    The gold-platinum spread dropped to below $60 an ounce, its
lowest since late September, down from a peak near $220 in early
December.	
    Traders said the rapid gains in platinum could be a
combination of a breakthrough of a key technical resistance and
ongoing worries about supply in top producer South Africa.	
    "Platinum cleared the previous high hit in November, so some
long-positions holders could be adding to their positions," said
a Tokyo-based trader, adding that industrial demand for the
metal remained sluggish.	
    	
    Precious metals prices 0330 GMT
  Metal             Last    Change  Pct chg  YTD pct chg    Volume
  Spot Gold        1755.16   -3.83   -0.22     12.24
  Spot Silver        34.22   -0.07   -0.20     23.58
  Spot Platinum    1696.50   12.51   +0.74     21.79
  Spot Palladium    709.22    1.50   +0.21      8.69
  COMEX GOLD APR2  1757.00   -1.50   -0.09     12.14         9055
  COMEX SILVER MAR2  34.23   -0.20   -0.58     22.62         2932
  Euro/Dollar       1.3223
  Dollar/Yen         79.85
  COMEX gold and silver contracts show the most active months  
    	

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