By Nick Godt, MarketWatch NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Gold, platinum and other metals futures rose on Wednesday, gaining as strong economic data reported by China lifted demand expectations. Gold for April delivery was last up $1, or 0.1%, at $1,123.10 an ounce in electronic trading. Making bigger gains, platinum for April delivery traded up $6.80, or 0.4%, at $1,603.70 an ounce and June palladium added $1.70, or 0.4%, to $471 an ounce. China's trade surplus narrowed further in February to $7.6 billion from $14.2 billion in January because of soaring imports, reflecting growing domestic consumption. Read more on China's trade surplus. "It is not what China says it is what they do that reflected in higher crude imports and continued platinum catalyst use," said George Gero, metals analyst at RBC Capital, in emailed comments. Where the Chinese New Year falls on the calendar -- February this year and January in 2009 -- can tend to distort economic statistics, Gero noted. AM Report: Cracking Down on Swaps Following Greece's economic crisis, European leaders are considering banning credit-default swaps, WSJ Brussels bureau chief Stephen Fidler reports on the News Hub. "However, the numbers on the copper imports proved to be way better than previous pundit projections and this, don't forget, after a crippling winter freeze that iced up many of the country's northern ports," he said. Copper for May delivery, however, retreated from earlier gains to lose 2 cents at $3.40 a pound. Also supporting gold, the dollar's rally against the euro came to a halt, following stronger-than-expected economic reports from Germany and France. The dollar index (DXY 80.60, +0.01, +0.01%) , which measures the U.S. unit against a basket of six major currencies, stood at 80.61, little changed. A weaker dollar tends to lift gold prices, as it boosts its appeal as a hedge. It also makes dollar-denominated commodities, including metals, more attractive to holders of other currencies.

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