Gold inched up on Wednesday, adding to a 0.5 percent gain made the previous day when a recovery in risk appetite lifted commodities after last week's sell-off, while palladium climbed to a fresh two-year high. FUNDAMENTALS * Spot gold edged up 0.2 percent to $1,141.70 an ounce by 0034 GMT from New York's notional close of $1,139.50. It hit an almost two-week low of $1,123.15 on Monday. * Spot palladium hit a new two-year high of $551.75 an ounce before trading at $550.75, up 0.3 percent from $549.00 in New York, having exceeded the previous high marked on Tuesday. The metal is partly supported by exchange-traded fund demand, particularly from the United States. [ID:nTKU105954] * Spot platinum gained to $1,717.50 an ounce from $1,714 in New York. * U.S. gold futures for June delivery advanced to $1,142.60 an ounce, after settling at $1,139.20 on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. * On Tuesday, improved U.S. corporate results led by banks like Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Citigroup Inc prompted funds to buy assets perceived as riskier such as equities and commodities. [ID:nN20251740] * The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the SPDR Gold Trust , said its holdings stood at 1,141.041 tonnes as of April 20, unchanged from the previous business day and the same as a record first marked on April 9. [GOL/SPDR] MARKET NEWS * The yen was on the defensive on Wednesday as investors added to long positions in growth-linked currencies, buoyed by strong U.S. corporate earnings, while the euro struggled with mounting worries about debt-laden Greece. [USD/] * U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday as oil prices lifted energy shares and investors were upbeat about the overall profit recovery, even as some high-profile results fell short of lofty expectations. [.N] * Oil prices rose on Tuesday after three sessions of losses as the threat from Iceland's volcanic ash cloud receded, letting some European flights resume, and U.S. stocks edged higher on quarterly results. [O/R] * NovaGold and Teck Resources have begun a pre-feasibility study on their Galore Creek gold-copper joint venture in British Columbia, NovaGold said on Tuesday, signalling that the high-price project is once again moving forward. [ID:nN20111861] * The Tokyo Commodity Exchange will launch a market maker system next month, the head of Japan's biggest commodity exchange said on Tuesday, in a bid to boost liquidity. [ID:nTOE63J05T] DATA EVENTS * The following data is expected on Wednesday: - Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Kiyohiko Nishimura holds press conference (0200 GMT) - Greece to start talks with EU/IMF on programme (N/A) - Bank of England April MPC minutes (0830 GMT) - Weekly U.S. mortgage market index (1100 GMT) - G20 labour, employment ministers hold press conference in Washington (1900 GMT) RELATED NEWS >Gold drops but off lows; eyes Goldman fallout [GOL/] >Commds surge in rebound as Goldman worries recede [COM/WRAP] >New SAfrica authority to negotiate power deals [ID:nLDE63J2AF] >Zimbabwe to start foreign takeovers with mines [ID:nLDE63J2EF] >Platinum leaves gold in the dust as ratio widens[ID:nLDE63J1D3] >Europe flight disruption hits India gold imports[ID:nSGE63J0DG] >India gold seen at 16,700 rupees by June-poll [ID:nMBI006588] >Turkish jewellery exports may rise 20% in 2010 [ID:nWEB0716] PRICES Precious metals prices at 0001 GMT Metal Last Change Pct chg 2 day chg MA 30 RSI Spot gold $1141.35 $1.85 +0.16% -1.43% $1124.44 50 Spot silver $17.86 $0.05 +0.28% -1.76% $17.57 46 Spot plat $1718.50 $4.50 +0.26% +1.48% $1656.30 60 TOCOM gold 3,428 38 +1.12% +2.08% 3,370 54 TOCOM plat 5,130 102 +2.03% +4.06% 4,943 60 Currencies Euro/dlr $1.343 -$0.001 -0.08% -0.44% Dlr/yen 93.09 -0.13 -0.14% +0.71% TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.

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