By Matt Day
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES


NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Gold futures rose Wednesday as investors continued to seek a safe place to park cash after Greece's approval of austerity measures.

The most actively traded contract, for August delivery, settled $10.20, or 0.7%, higher, at $1,510.40 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The Greek parliament Wednesday approved a set of budget cuts and sales of government assets as part of an effort to secure another round of financial support from the European Union and International Monetary Fund. Worries that the debt-laden country would default on its debt have increased investor demand for a refuge during the last year, helping to push gold to record highs. Some investors look to precious metals as a safe haven during turmoil in other markets.

"The coming weeks will tell very quickly whether Greece has been brought back from the edge," said Matt Zeman, head of trading with brokerage Kingsview Financial. "People really question Greece's ability to enforce these measures."

The Greek parliament is slated to hold votes Thursday on individual items in the austerity legislation as well as plans to sell some government assets. In addition to Greece, worries persist that other heavily indebted euro-zone nations may struggle to meet their obligations.

Gold has gained for two consecutive days, but doesn't seem set to embark on a steep rally unless there's fresh cause for concern about the global economy, said Frank Lesh, a broker with FuturePath Trading. "The incentive to [buy] and chase the price up isn't there," he said.

Gold has also received support this week as traders viewed the dip below $1,500 an ounce Monday as an opportunity to buy.

Futures pulled back sharply at the end of last week, falling by more than $50 a troy ounce as the dollar strengthened and investors sold precious metals to cover losses in other markets. A rising dollar can hit dollar-denominated commodities by making them more expensive for buyers using other currencies.

Major stock indexes and some closely watched commodities, such as copper and crude oil, rose Wednesday, adding fuel to gold's rise, market participants said. Though gold is viewed by some as more of an investment vehicle than a raw material, it can also benefit when investors are favoring riskier assets like equities and commodities.

Precious metals with more industrial applications than gold outpaced the yellow metal's gains Wednesday. Platinum for October delivery rose 2% to $1,727 a troy ounce. September-delivery palladium rose 2.3% to $751.90 an ounce.

July-delivery silver settled 3.3% higher, at $34.75 a troy ounce.


Settlements (ranges include open-outcry and electronic trading):
London PM Gold Fix: $1,504.25; previous PM $1,499.00
Aug gold $1,510.40, up $10.20; Range $1,500.80-$1,513.80
July silver $34.750, up $1.112; Range $33.850-$34.905
October platinum $1,727.00, up $33.50; Range $1,695.50-$1,729.90
Sep palladium $751.90, up $16.75; Range $734.75-$752.50


-By Matt Day, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-4986; matt.day@dowjones.com

Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20110629-712411.html