By Clementine Wallop Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES SINGAPORE (Dow Jones)--Gold traded in a narrow range in Asia Wednesday as investors awaited cues from protracted Greek debt talks that are set to continue later in the day. Gold traded between $1,742.20 and $1,749.50 a troy ounce as Asian investors remained wary of the Greek discussions despite progress Tuesday that helped fuel a 1.5% rally for the yellow metal. Gold was trading at $1,745.48/oz at 0530 GMT, up 58 cents from its previous close. Gold received support Tuesday from U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who reaffirmed sustained accommodative monetary policy in comments to the Senate Budget Committee, analysts said. "Certainly Greece is a great focus for the market at the moment, but the main positive thing for gold has been these comments from Ben Bernanke where he reaffirmed his commitment to the low interest rate regime," said Pradeep Unni, a senior analyst at Richcomm Global Services in Dubai. Progress in Greek talks later in the day would probably move gold prices higher, in line with risky assets such as industrial metals, Unni said. "If there are positive developments, then we'll see some additional gains in gold," he said, tipping resistance around $1,765/oz. Physical demand and speculative appetite, especially in the U.S., are also contributing to bullish sentiment in the gold market, Standard Chartered analysts said in a report. "Funds and physical investors remain positive on gold," they said. The StanChart analysts forecast an average price of $1,800/oz for the second quarter. A slightly stronger dollar capped gold's upside Wednesday. Dollar-denominated commodities become more expensive to investors holding other currencies when the greenback firms. The euro was at $1.3253 compared with $1.3261 late Tuesday in New York. Silver was stuck in a tight range of $34.19-$34.04/oz in lackluster trade. It was trading at $34.10/oz, down 5 cents from its previous close, at 0530 GMT. "The silver market is still awaiting the mass return of the speculator. At the moment they are thin on the ground," Triland Metals said in a report. Platinum prices slipped $1.00 to $1,646/oz, while palladium rose 87 cents to 708.87/oz, 1.0% higher since the start of the week. -By Clementine Wallop; Dow Jones Newswires; 65 64154 082; clementine.wallop@dowjones.com

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