Gold rises on Greek austerity bill, off 2-wk low

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Gold strengthened on Monday after Greece's parliament finally approved a deeply unpopular austerity bill to secure a second EU/IMF bailout to avoid national bankruptcy.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold added $3.70 an ounce to $1,723.09 an ounce by 0029 GMT, having fallen to $1,703.69 on Friday, its lowest since late January, as uncertainty over negotiations for Greece's bailout package prompted investors to cash in.

* U.S. gold for April delivery was steady at $1,725.60 an ounce.

* Cinemas, cafes, shops and banks were set ablaze in central Athens and black-masked protesters fought riot police outside parliament before lawmakers voted on an austerity bill that demands deep cuts to pay, pension and jobs - the price of a 130 billion euro bailout needed to keep Greece afloat.

* Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has said China will start to fine-tune its economic policy in the first quarter, the official Shanghai Securities News quoted him as saying on Monday, the government's most explicit indication yet of a monetary easing.

MARKET NEWS

* Asian shares and the euro gained modestly on Monday, along with Japan's Nikkei share average, relieved by the Greek parliament's passage of austerity measures.

PRICES

Precious metals prices 0029 GMT

Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Volume

Spot Gold 1723.09 3.70 +0.22 10.19

Spot Silver 33.71 0.15 +0.45 21.74

Spot Platinum 1658.99 18.99 +1.16 19.09

Spot Palladium 701.22 1.25 +0.18 7.47

COMEX GOLD APR2 1725.60 0.30 +0.02 10.14 2689

COMEX SILVER MAR2 33.74 0.13 +0.39 20.85 1711

Euro/Dollar 1.3232

Dollar/Yen 77.71

COMEX gold and silver contracts show the most active months

(Reporting by Lewa Pardomuan; Editing by Michael Perry)