* Gold extends gains, Japan, Arab World in focus
* Coming Up: U.S. ECRI weekly index; 1430 GMT
(Updates prices, adds quotes)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, March 18 (Reuters) - Gold rose more than half a
percent on Friday after equities markets regained strength and
crude oil firmed on rising tensions in the Middle East and North
Africa, but Japan's nuclear crisis could cap gains.
Investors shifted their attention to Libya after the United
Nations authorised military strikes to curb leader Muammar
Gaddafi, while a deadly unrest in Bahrain could stir up interest
in bullion which has lost more than 2 percent since striking a
record.
In Japan, engineers raced to restore a power cable to a
quake-ravaged nuclear power plant on Friday in the hope of
restarting pumps needed to pour cold water on overheating fuel
rods and avert a catastrophic release of radiation.
Spot gold added $7.30 o $1,409.70 an ounce by 0310
GMT. Bullion rallied to a record around $1,444 last week on high
oil prices, fears about civil war in Libya, unrest in the
Middle East and renewed worries about sovereign debt crisis in
Europe.
"As Japan deals with the aftermath of the earthquake,
investors could focus back on the Middle East. The situation in
Bahrain is of great concern currently," said Ong Yi Ling,
investment analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore.
"I would still have a bullish bias for gold. Gold prices
may continue to hold firm in the face of the uncertain economic
conditions currently. Of course, if we do see a broad-based sell
off of equities, gold could be depressed as investors may sell
bullion to raise cash."
U.S. gold futures for April rose $6.8 an ounce to
$1,411 an ounce.
The U.N. Security Council passed a resolution endorsing a
no-fly zone to halt Libyan government troops now around 100 km
(60 miles) from rebel bastion of Benghazi. It also authorised
"all necessary measures" -- code for military action -- to
protect civilians against Gaddafi's forces.
In Bahrain, the country's largest opposition group urged
Saudi Arabia to withdraw its forces and called for a U.N.
inquiry into a crackdown on mainly Shi'ite protesters that has
angered Iran and raised tensions in the oil-exporting region.
The physical market was steady after purchases by investors
in Japan following last week's devastating earthquake sent
premiums for gold bars in Tokyo to $2 an ounce, their strongest
since late 2008.
Premiums were also steady in Singapore and Hong Kong.
"I guess the situation in Libya is supporting the market but
people are also squaring off positions ahead of the weekend.
There's not much activity on the physical side at current price
levels," said a dealer in Hong Kong.
"We did see some buying from mainland China yesterday, but I
don't think it has anything to do with the situation in Japan."
Japanese shares jumped nearly 2 percent and the yen tumbled
on Friday after the G7 agreed on joint intervention to curb the
currency's strength, but a sustained stock rally may have to
wait until the full impact of a devastating earthquake and
nuclear reactor crisis becomes clearer.
Declines in equities had prompted speculators to sell
bullion to cover losses earlier this week.
Japanese stocks suffered their worst two-day slide since the
1987 crash on Monday and Tuesday, following the devastating
earthquake and tsunami that killed thousands and crippled a
nuclear power plant about 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo.
ICE Brent crude rose more than a dollar on Friday
on fears of further geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and
North Africa after U.N. approved military strikes to curb Libyan
leader Gaddafi.
Precious metals prices 0310 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover
Spot Gold 1409.70 7.30 +0.52 -0.69
Spot Silver 34.71 0.53 +1.55 12.48
Spot Platinum 1707.24 9.75 +0.57 -3.41
Spot Palladium 717.97 13.47 +1.91 -10.20
TOCOM Gold 3710.00 149.00 +4.18 -0.51 62810
TOCOM Platinum 4512.00 246.00 +5.77 -3.92 20744
TOCOM Silver 91.00 4.50 +5.20 12.35 1879
TOCOM Palladium 1902.00 140.00 +7.95 -9.30 386
Euro/Dollar 1.4070
Dollar/Yen 81.63
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Himani Sarkar)
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