By Arpan Mukherjee Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES WELLINGTON (Dow Jones)--Gold was under pressure in the Asian session Thursday with a strong dollar weighing on prices as the much-awaited release of bailout funds for Greece appears to be held back till the elections in the country scheduled for early April. "Now we are getting the big re-assessment trade coming through as investors start wondering what is going to happen with Europe," IG Markets institutional dealer Chris Weston said. He noted that a lot of investors are starting to take profits off the table since gold has rallied since January. At 0510 GMT, spot gold was at $1,721.75 a troy ounce, down $6.35, or 0.4% from its previous close. Although the head of a group of euro-zone finance ministers said Greece had taken the required steps for getting EUR130 billion in aid, and that the group "will be able to take all the necessary decisions" on another bailout on Monday, some reports have suggested the decision may be delayed. However, arrangements would be made to provide a bridge loan of EUR14.4 billion to help Greece avoid a disorderly default, the reports said. The euro-zone uncertainty is driving many investors to the sidelines, said Peter Fung, director of Wing Fung Precious Metals in Hong Kong. "We are seeing some selling pressure [in gold] on the Shanghai Futures Exchange and there is not enough liquidity in the market," Fung noted. IG Markets' Weston said gold will keep moving in line with the euro for the timebeing and $1,705/oz remains a key support level. Below this, based on technical analysis, gold could fall to $1,671/oz, he said. In the case of silver, Standard Bank analyst Walter de Wet said in a note that much of the tightness in the silver market since 2008 has come from China turning a net importer after being a net exporter prior to that. "As long as China does not import silver, the price is unlikely to rally on a sustainable basis," Wet said. At 0510 GMT, spot silver was at $33.24/oz, down 26 cents, while platinum was at $1,618/oz, down $14 and palladium at $679.25/oz, down $1.75. Mitsui Global Precious Metals said in a report that there's robust investor interest in palladium below $700/oz, and that "there has been strong buying across most of the palladium ETFs [exchange-traded fund] since the beginning of February." -By Arpan Mukherjee, Dow Jones Newswires; 64-4-471-5990; arpan.mukherjee@dowjones.com

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