* Two more Greek lawmakers withdraw support for referendum on EU aid
* Greek govt collapse possibile, market hopes new govt will accept aid
* ECB cuts rates to 1.25 percent in surprise move (Updates prices)
By Maytaal Angel and Jane Lee
LONDON/KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Spot gold and crude oil rose on Thursday as investors bet a possible collapse of Greece's government would kill plans for a referendum on the country's bailout package, forcing it to accept EU aid and avoid a disorderly default.
Two Greek ruling party lawmakers said earlier they did not support Prime Minister George Papandreou's call for a referendum on the EU rescue package, raising hopes for an early election, not a referendum.
These hopes bolstered the euro, but the single currency later gave back gains versus the dollar after the European Central Bank cut interest rates by 25 basis points, as concerns over the EU debt crisis outweighed worries over high inflation.
Spot gold turned positive in European trade, Brent crude LCOc1 rose after slipping as low as $107.83 in Asia, while three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange, the laggard of the trio, entered positive territory after the ECB rate cut.
"If (the Greeks) declare no referendum, yes, markets will take it as a short-term positive but that still leaves the long term difficulties in place," said Sean Corrigan, chief investment strategist at Diapason Commodities Management.
"Let's not forget that before Papandreou called this referendum we were all wondering what the EFSF (European Financial Stability Facility) actually is. So even if the Greeks are bullied into taking the deal have we solved all those problems?"
Greece's call for a referendum came less than week after EU leaders struck a deal to expand the scope of their euro zone rescue fund, write down part of Greece's debt and recapitalize the regions banks.
For investors, the referendum call has raised the possibility of a disorderly default on Greek debt with the real threat being a spillover into other countries, notably Italy.
Gold has been rangebound in the past week or so, with the threat of a Greek default burnishing the precious metal's safe-haven appeal and fears of a liquidity crunch in case of a default keeping gains in check.
"There are too many things to watch out for," said Ronald Leung, a physical dealer at Lee Cheong Gold Dealers in Hong Kong. "People are waiting for more news on the euro zone and how the economy fares."
Spot gold rose 1.22 percent to $1,758.90 an ounce at 1305 GMT. Prices are below a record of $1,920.30 reached in September but are still set for an 11th consecutive annual gain.
Brent crude for December LCOc1 rose 1.12 percent to $110.53, while three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange headed up 0.53 percent to $7,925.25 a tonne, having earlier hit a day low of $7,673.
U.S., CHINA ECONOMIES
Concerns that Europe's financial troubles will drag down growth in the U.S. and China have made investors more wary of pushing commodity prices higher after gains chalked up in October.
China's official Purchasing Managers Index for its non-manufacturing sector fell to 57.7 in October from 59.3 in September, the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said on Thursday.
The index suggested China's services sector lost some steam in October, and follows a tepid reading on manufacturing earlier in the week.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke warned on Wednesday that Europe's debt crisis posed big economic risks, and reduced the forecast for GDP growth in the U.S., the world's largest consumer of oil.
World stocks as measured by MSCI were steady after earlier being sharply lower, while in Europe, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares turned higher.
European leaders were preparing for the possibility of Greece leaving the euro zone as the cost to insure EU debt against default rose on fears a messy Greek default could send the currency bloc into a deep recession.
Source; http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/03/markets-commodities-idUSL4E7M31OE20111103
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