* Gold to end rebound around $1,656 -technicals
 
    * Coming up: U.S. retail sales at 1330 GMT

 (Updates prices, adds quotes)
    By Lewa Pardomuan and Risa Maeda
    SINGAPORE/TOKYO, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Palladium rose to its
strongest in 17 months on Wednesday due to a robust outlook for
demand and concerns over supply, while gold inched down,
although purchases by jewellers after the Lunar New Year break
limited losses. 
    Palladium and its sister metal, platinum, have outperformed
gold so far this year on an improving global economy and after
mining disruptions in South Africa, as well as a drop in supply
from Russia, triggered fears of a deficit in the metals used in
jewellery and auto catalysts. 
     Spot palladium also got a boost from the most active
palladium contract on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM),
currently December, which rallied to its highest since
mid-2001 at 2,334 yen a gram. 
    Palladium rose to $772.25 an ounce, its strongest
since September 2011, before easing to $768.22 by 0721 GMT,
little changed from the previous session.   
    Platinum gained $2.18 to $1,715.67 an ounce, still
within sight of a 17-month peak struck last week.
     "I think that behind the rally in palladium lies the air
pollution problem in Beijing. Now that the world is aware of the
problem, China may have to step up its regulations on auto
exhaust gas," said Yasukazu Kyomoto, a manager at Japanese
commodity brokerage Yutaka Shoji Co.
    "If so, that would boost demand for auto catalyst and based
on such speculation, money from funds is flowing in. Unlike in
Europe, both palladium and platinum can be used in auto
catalysts in China. People are now being lured to palladium,
which looks undervalued versus platinum."
     Excessive pollution levels have prompted the Beijing
government to roll out a series of temporary emergency measures,
such as shutting down around 100 heavily polluting factories and
taking 30 percent of government vehicles off roads.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/13/markets-precious-idUSL4N0BD08220130213