* Japan back from holiday, helps support platinum
* Palladium down from highest since mid-July
* Gold market to focus on Fed's Yellen speech later
(Updates throughout, changes dateline from SINGAPORE)
By Clara Denina
LONDON, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Platinum edged up on Thursday
after a four-day rout prompted by fears about demand from the
auto sector following the Volkswagen (XETRA:VOWG) diesel emissions scandal.
Palladium, predominantly used in gasoline catalysts,
retreated from an earlier mid-July high, down 0.5 percent at
$642 an ounce.
Volkswagen AG VOWG_p.DE , the world's biggest carmaker by
sales, admitted to U.S. regulators that it programmed its cars
to detect when they were being tested and alter the running of
their diesel engines to conceal their true
emissions.
Platinum is used in diesel catalysts to clean up exhaust
emissions.
"The market is obviously pre-empting a possible disruption
to the whole diesel catalytic converter sector and we now need
to see what the future holds for diesel demand in the U.S. and
the reverberations in Europe," Saxo Bank senior manager Ole
Hansen said.
Spot platinum XPT= was up 1 percent at $939.20 an ounce by
1009 GMT, after losing about 5 percent in the past four
sessions. The metal remained within sight of a 6-1/2 year low of
$924.50 hit on Wednesday.
Platinum also had some support on Thursday from Japanese
traders returning from a three-day holiday.
"The Japanese came in aggressively on the bid this morning,
taking the white metal more than $20 higher," said MKS Group
trader Jason Cerisola.
Spot palladium XPD= logged a near 7 percent jump in the
previous session.
"Talks about the potential switch from diesel to gasoline
propped up palladium yesterday," Hansen said.
Gold XAU= also climbed for a second straight session,
gaining 0.4 percent to $1,134.56, as the dollar and European
shares eased.
Worries that an eventual tightening in U.S. monetary policy
and slower growth in China could knock the global economy have
scared investors, prompting some safe-haven bids for gold.
Holdings in SPDR Gold Trust GLD , the world's largest
gold-backed exchange-traded fund, rose for a second straight
session, providing some support for prices. The fund added 0.60
tonnes on Wednesday, bringing total holdings to 676.40 tonnes.
Investors will be closely monitoring a speech by Federal
Reserve Chair Janet Yellen later in the session for clues on
when the U.S. central bank will begin to raise rates.
Silver XAG= rose 0.3 percent to $14.78 an ounce.