By Clementine Wallop Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES SINGAPORE (Dow Jones)--Gold prices rose in Asian trading Monday, as speculative buying activity outweighed a firmer dollar and China's absence from the market due to the Lunar New Year holidays. Spot gold traded as high as $1,673.05 a troy ounce amid holiday-thinned trade. It was trading at $1,671.95/oz at 0530 GMT, up $4.95 from its previous settlement. A Tokyo-based trader said investors are looking for a safe store of value amid continuing turmoil in the euro zone. "The general feeling [in the investment community] is that now is a good time to buy," he said. The physical trade is more apprehensive, and physical dealers are wary of possible sales by European central banks if they try to free up cash, he said, adding that later in the day, gold will take direction from any developments on Greece's debt-swap agreement talks. Traders and analysts said movements in the U.S. dollar will also likely influence gold prices this week. Gold, like other dollar-denominated commodities, becomes more expensive to investors holding other currencies when the greenback firms. The euro was at $1.2899 compared with $1.2933 late in New York Friday. "Gold could be in for a bumpy ride over the coming week, given the potential for the dollar to strengthen again after its recent correction," Saxo Bank analysts said in a report. Standard Chartered analysts cautioned that gold will likely be choppy throughout the year, as prices remain extremely sensitive to macroeconomic developments. The house remains bullish on the yellow metal in the long term, it said in a report, but added that it doesn't see gold as a "one-way bet." "A major retreat in global equity markets would probably see gold fall in sympathy and while the long-term trend may be up, volatility is likely to remain high given the uncertain backdrop," they added. The other precious metals were mixed Monday, with platinum and palladium trading in tight ranges due to a lack of physical interest from China. Silver was trading 23 cents higher at $32.43/oz, platinum was 25 cents lower at $1,530.75/oz and palladium slipped 75 cents to trade at $676.25/oz. -By Clementine Wallop; Dow Jones Newswires; 65 64154 082; clementine.wallop@dowjones.com

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