(Reuters) - Gold held firm on Wednesday, close to recent 11-month highs, with investors still willing to broaden their exposure to the metal after a report showed U.S. private sector jobs growth maintained a slow pace. U.S. private employers added 162,000 jobs in September, topping economists' expectations, a report by a payrolls processor showed on Wednesday, although a revision of the previous month's figures eroded the positive outcome. Economists surveyed by Reuters had forecast the ADP National Employment Report would show a gain of 143,000 jobs, but August's private payrolls were revised down to an increase of 189,000 from the previously reported 201,000. "The last month was revised down...so that's removed half the increase," said Ole Hansen, senior manager at Saxo Bank. The jobs figures are keenly watched for clues on how long the U.S. central bank will continue its policy of adding $40 billion a month to the financial system through quantitative easing (QE). "I think just given the extreme attention that QE is getting right now, there is really only is one game in town right now and that is non-farm payrolls," he added. Spot gold was 0.3 percent higher at $1,778.66 an ounce by 1423 GMT. Prices hit $1,791.20 earlier this week, their highest since last November. U.S. gold futures for December delivery were up 0.1 percent at $1,777.10 per ounce. Analysts said the market was looking buoyant as a number of factors, including central bank buying, had combined to support the price. "Gold has certainly got a bit of spring in its step at the end of the summer break. There is good physical buying coming through and central bank buying is firm so the market will support it," said Ross Norman, chief executive at gold-broking firm Sharps Pixley. The dollar was broadly firmer against a basket of major currencies .DXY. A stronger greenback usually weighs on commodities priced in dollars, yet gold held near its highest levels for the year. NON-FARM PAYROLLS Investors are waiting for a broader survey of employment from the U.S. government on Friday, which is expected to show 113,000 workers were added to non-farm payrolls in September, following the 96,000 increase in August. Credit Suisse analyst Tom Kendall said physical buyers needed to be back significantly in the market to take prices above $1,800 an ounce, a figure seen as the next upside target. "To get this market over $1,800 and trending higher again what we need to see is greater participation in places like India on the buy-side, which we've still not really seen in any sustained form," Kendall said. A separate report showed a surprisingly large expansion in activity in the U.S. services sector in September. The Institute for Supply Management's index of service sector activity rose to 55.1 last month from 53.7 in August, beating expectations for a decline to 53.2. The employment component of the survey fell to 51.1, from 53.8, its lowest in two months. Silver, having hit seven-month highs on Monday, was flat at $34.61 an ounce. Among platinum group metals, industrial unrest gripping South Africa's platinum sector failed to support prices. Spot platinum rose 0.6 percent to $1,679.99 an ounce. Anglo American Platinum warned on Tuesday that security had worsened at its Rustenburg mines after several thousand workers rallied over pay. Palladium increased by 0.3 percent to $649.22 an ounce, failing to draw strength from data late on Tuesday that showed a sharp rise in U.S. vehicle sales in September. The U.S. car market, the world's second-largest after China, is a key source of demand for the metal, which is used in the catalytic converters of gasoline-powered vehicles to clean noxious exhaust fumes. U.S. sales posted their best showing in 4-1/2 years in September, helped by cheap financing, rising consumer confidence and a major rebound by Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T). (Additional reporting by Rujun Shen in Singapore and Veronica Brown in London; Editing by Alison Birrane)

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