* Gold heads for almost 11 percent rise this month
    * Coming Up: U.S. consumer confidence Jan; 1500 GMT

 (Updates prices, adds quotes)	
    By Lewa Pardomuan	
    SINGAPORE, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Gold ticked up on
Tuesday after the euro recouped some losses, while bullion
prices headed for their biggest monthly rise since August as
lingering concerns about growth in the United States prompted
buying from investors. 	
    Gold jumped nearly 5 percent last week, its fourth
consecutive weekly gain, after the U.S. Federal Reserve pledged
to keep interest rates near zero until at least late 2014, which
could put pressure on the dollar. 	
    "Sentiment seems to have improved quite tremendously, I
would say. We are now into more bullish territory, more than
ever, with the Fed providing enough fundamental support," said
Dominic Schnider, head of commodity research at UBS Wealth
Management.    	
    Gold added $7.05 an ounce to $1,735.69 by 0315 GMT,
having hit a low around $1,716 on Monday.	
    "I think we have good reasons to believe we are going to
test $1,805 in the coming day. The Fed was clearly the most
important event," said Schnider. 	
    U.S. February gold rose $5.1 to $1,736.10 an ounce.	
    	
     A top U.S. Federal Reserve official on Monday said he would
have preferred a more optimistic statement on the U.S. economy,
after the central bank last week painted a grim picture of the
recovery and forecast ultra-low interest rates until late 2014.
 	
    Gold, which struck a record at $1,920.30 last September, was
headed for an almost 11 percent rise this month, highest since a
12 percent gain in August 2011. A spike in prices before the
Lunar New Year holidays was driven partly by Chinese buying. 	
    "Before the Chinese New Year really started, we've seen
quite strong gold exports from Hong Kong to China. Apparently
Chinese demand was very solid," said Schnider.	
    In other markets, shares and the euro recovered earlier
losses on Tuesday after Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos
raised hopes for a deal to be reached this week to avoid a
default, but markets were starting to worry that Portugal might
need a second rescue. 	
     At a summit meeting on Monday, European leaders agreed on a
permanent rescue fund for the euro zone and most endorsed a
German-inspired stricter budget discipline, but they fell short
of reconciling fiscal austerity with growth. 	
    Gold, typically a safe-haven asset, has been tracking the   
 fortunes of the euro and stocks, with speculators selling the  
  metal for cash to cover losses in other markets, especially   
 during this period of uncertainty in Europe.	
    The physical sector lacked activity, but jewellers could
eventually return to the market before prices rose further. 	
    "I think selling has ceased since last evening, but volume
was thin. Customers were all eager to see how low the price
would go, and now they are preparing to buy back," said a dealer
in Singapore. 	
    "The Indonesians are still sending gold scraps, but the
volume has dropped." 	
    Silver added 0.36 percent to $33.58 after rising to
$33.95 on Monday, its strongest since mid-November. Platinum
 and palladium also firmed. 	
    Holdings of the world's largest silver-backed
exchange-traded fund, iShares Silver Trust rose about 1
percent to 9,608.95 tonnes by Monday, from 9,510.70 tonnes on
Friday. 	
        	
  Precious metals prices 0315 GMT
  Metal             Last    Change  Pct chg  YTD pct chg    Volume
  Spot Gold        1735.69    7.05   +0.41     10.99
  Spot Silver        33.58    0.12   +0.36     21.27
  Spot Platinum    1620.50   11.26   +0.70     16.33
  Spot Palladium    686.84    3.14   +0.46      5.26
  COMEX GOLD FEB2  1736.30    5.30   +0.31     10.82          487
  COMEX SILVER MAR2  33.60    0.07   +0.22     20.37         1436
  Euro/Dollar       1.3191
  Dollar/Yen         76.25

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