PRECIOUS-Gold rises as growth concerns resurface; palladium surges

* Palladium hits fresh high of $1,783.21/oz
* GRAPHIC-Platinum/palladium ratio: http://tmsnrt.rs/1QjSZAC
* Dollar drops to more than one-month low

(Updates prices)
By Brijesh Patel
Oct 17 (Reuters) - Gold rose on Thursday as weak data from
the United States rekindled fears of an economic slowdown and as
concerns surfaced over possible risks to a new Brexit deal,
while supply-squeezed palladium continued its record run.
Spot gold XAU= was up 0.4% at $1,495.31 per ounce as of
01:58 p.m. EDT (1758 GMT). U.S. gold futures GCcv1 settled
0.3% higher at $1,498.30 an ounce.
"Geo-political tensions are ratcheting back up again, the
U.S. Federal Reserve will likely continue their pace on cutting
rates, which will be supportive for gold," said Phillip
Streible, senior commodities strategist at RJO Futures.
Lifting gold's safe-haven appeal, weak retail sales data and
industrial output report out of the United States fanned fears
about the health of the world's biggest economy, amid the
prolonged Sino-U.S. trade dispute.
Also providing further support to the bullion, the dollar
slipped to an more than one-month low. USD/
Earlier in the day, gold denominated in sterling XAUGBP=R
slid as much as 1.6% to its lowest since July 26 at 1,141.86
pounds an ounce after Britain and the European Union agreed to a
new Brexit deal. Prices are now up about 0.1% at 1,161.63 pounds
an ounce.
"There were some fears regarding the Brexit deal if it
couldn't pass through, which creates lot of uncertainty between
the European Union and UK. That's why gold futures had a little
bit of bounce up," Streible added.
Doubts emerged on the chances of British Prime Minister
Boris Johnson will win parliamentary ratification of the deal.
The Irish border riddle remained a sticking point for Northern
Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which has refused to
support the agreement. On the technical front, "gold now needs to break resistance
around $1,498-$1,500 area in order to brighten the short-term
outlook, while a rally outside of the bull channel would be a
more decisive signal for the bulls," Fawad Razaqzada, market
analyst with Forex.com, said in a note.
Among other precious metals, palladium XPD= fell 0.4% to
$1,760.14 an ounce, after hitting an all-time high of $1,783.21
earlier in the session.
Palladium is crucial in the making of catalytic converters
used in exhaust systems of vehicles, and concerns over its
supply running out have helped lift prices by more than 41% this
year alone, despite a weakening auto sector.
"Palladium market is still hampered by strengthening demand,
weaker supply. Demand for the metal will continue to move
higher, mainly from China," RJO Futures' Streible said.
Platinum XPT= gained 0.7% to $888.86 per ounce and silver
XAG= climbed 1.2% higher to $17.60.

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Palladium's record run https://tmsnrt.rs/2N199Hl
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