By Arpan Mukherjee Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES WELLINGTON (Dow Jones)--Gold was little changed in early Asian trading with the metal still attracting some safe-haven buying amid the ongoing European debt crisis despite Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou's decision to nix his earlier plan for a referendum on the European bailout package. Chris Weston, institutional dealer at IG Markets said while the chance of default by Greece "is still quite elevated with Greek (2-year bond) yields well above 100%," the decision to avoid a referendum "removes a key risk event." Traders said that some profit taking is weighing on gold prices after it rose 1.6% Thursday, but safe-haven buying will limit the downside. Around 0610 GMT, spot gold was at $1,761.69 a troy ounce, down $2.71 from its previous close amid thin trading with some investors on sidelines ahead of a confidence vote in the Greek parliament to be held later Friday. "There could be a bit of negative sentiment if [Papandreou] loses [leading to a weaker euro] and gold could face a temporary pull back, but dips will be bought strongly," a Hong Kong-based trader, who has bet that prices will rise, said. Analysts said the yellow metal's technical picture has improved since it broke through the $1,750/oz mark although it faces near-term resistance at $1,772/oz which will be a 61% re-tracement from its Sept. 26 low of $1,532.01/oz, after touching a record $1,920.94/oz Sept. 6. A surprise interest rate cut by the European Central Bank Thursday, intended to boost spending in the euro zone, is also expected to be positive for gold. "We have previously argued that the low real interest rate environment should help gold achieve further price gains in the coming months. This argument is now even more valid as the ECB decision means that rates will probably remain even lower for longer," Credit Suisse said in a note. Other precious metals were also moving in a narrow range as the market waits for clearer direction. Spot silver was at $34.51/oz, up 3 cents and palladium was up $2 at $658/oz, while platinum was down $3 at $1,630/oz. Bullion refiner MKS Finance said that with the uncertainty about the next round of bond-buying program by the U.S. Federal Reserve and a lack of physical demand from industrial users, silver may well be going nowhere. The house noted that holdings of iShare Silver Trust have edged down by 4.07 tons within a day to 9,776.14 tons by November 2. -By Arpan Mukherjee, Dow Jones Newswires; 64-4-471-5990; arpan.mukherjee@dowjones.com

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