PRECIOUS-Gold firm, platinum group at multi-month highs

* Gold underpinned by soft dollar, risk aversion * Platinum at highest since July 2008, palladium 2-yr peak

* Positive outlook for car sales prompts buying of PGMs

(Updates, adds comment, changes dateline from SINGAPORE)

By Jan Harvey

LONDON, April 22 (Reuters) - Gold rose towards $1,150 an ounce in Europe on Thursday, lifted by the softer dollar and persistent concerns about the outlook for debt-laden Greece, while platinum group metals rallied to multi-month highs.

Spot gold XAU= was bid at $1,146.90 an ounce at 0904 GMT, against $1,145.30 late in New York on Wednesday.

Its gains were outstripped by those of the PGMs, as platinum hit its highest since July 2008 at $1,751.50 an ounce, and palladium reached a two-year peak of $569.

"Platinum and palladium are being driven by two major points -- investment demand, which is still quite high, and the industrial character of the metal at a time when the economy is recovering," said Commerzbank analyst Daniel Briesemann.

A rise in car production after last year's slump is leading to more industrial offtake of the metals, especially in China, but speculation there will be further strong gains later in the year is also fuelling investment ahead of the curve.

"Investors are still buying platinum and palladium in expectation of a further increase in demand," said Briesemann. "If you look at Chinese car sales, they are still showing growth, so there is certainly real demand."

Platinum and palladium have climbed this year as demand from carmakers, who account for more than half of consumption, recovered from last year's slump.

China, where vehicle sales bucked last year's falling trend to rise 50 percent last year, has continued to grow, climbing 76 percent in the first quarter. [ID:nTOE63L02I]

Although the world's biggest carmaker Toyota has been hit by a credit downgrade after a series of product recalls, other carmakers have had an upbeat year so far.

Luxury carmaker Daimler (DAIGn.DE) said it doubled first quarter car sales in China, Hyundai (005380.KS) posted a record net profit in the period and Peugeot (PEUP.PA) said sales rose more than a quarter. [ID:nWEB0909] [ID:nWEB1177] [ID:nTOE63J04Z]

EXPECTATIONS RISE

The platinum and palladium exchange-traded funds launched in the United States earlier this year are also seeing good demand.

On the supply side of the market, Anglo Platinum (AMSJ.J), the world's No. 1 producer of the precious metal, said first quarter output fell 3 percent as it closed some shafts, but kept its full-year production target on Thursday. [ID:nLDE63L07O]

Platinum XPT= was at $1,740 an ounce against $1,731, while palladium XPD= was flat at $563 an ounce. The market is awaiting the release of a key report on supply and demand trends from metals consultancy GFMS at 1300 GMT.

Gold meanwhile took support from weakness in the dollar and lingering concerns over Greece's fiscal health. The euro EUR= firmed 0.1 percent versus the dollar, reversing earlier losses.

But the single currency is still under pressure from worries about Greece's debt crisis. The spread of Greek government bonds over German Bunds widened beyond 500 basis points on Wednesday, the highest in 12 years. [ID:nLDE63L0AN]

"While background debt concerns and the current environment of historically low interest rates are supportive for gold, the metal still appears to be consolidating short-term and requires a close above $1,162 to confirm a break to the upside," said James Moore, an analyst at TheBullionDesk.com.

Silver XAG= was bid at $18.05 an ounce against $18.03.

Minor precious metals also climbed, with iridium IRID-LON touching a fresh 12-year peak at $540 an ounce and ruthenium RUTH-LON its highest since Nov. 2008 at $210 an ounce.

Traders report solid buying of the metals, chiefly used in electronics manufacturing, from the Far East.

(Reporting by Jan Harvey; Editing by Michael Hogan)