* Gold extends gains, Japan, Arab World in focus
* Coming Up: U.S. ECRI weekly index; 1430 GMT
(Updates prices)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, March 18 (Reuters) - Gold rose more than half a
percent on Friday after Asian equities advanced and crude oil
firmed on rising tensions in the Middle East and North Africa,
but the worsening nuclear crisis in Japan could keep a lid on
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 conceded that burying a crippled nuclear
reactor in sand and concrete may be the only way to prevent a
catastrophic radiation leak, while head of the U.N.'s nuclear
watchdog said the crisis at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power
plant is "grave and serious".
Spot gold added $11.35 o $1,413.75 an ounce by 0722
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 $9.8 an ounce to
$1,414 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, hundreds of Bahrainis gathered on Friday to bury
an activist killed in a crackdown on mainly Shi'ite Muslim
protesters that has angered Iran and raised tensions in the
world's largest 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 3 percent and the yen tumbled on
Friday after the Group of Seven rich nations agreed on rare
joint intervention to curb the soaring currency and calm markets
jittery over Japan nuclear power plant crisis.
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.
Brent crude jumped by more than $1 to stand above $116 on
Friday on fears of rising geopolitical tensions in the oil-rich
Middle East and North Africa, after the United Nations approved
military action to contain Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
Precious metals prices 0722 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover
Spot Gold 1413.75 11.35 +0.81 -0.40
Spot Silver 34.89 0.71 +2.08 13.06
Spot Platinum 1714.00 16.51 +0.97 -3.03
Spot Palladium 721.75 17.25 +2.45 -9.72
TOCOM Gold 3719.00 158.00 +4.44 -0.27 87416
TOCOM Platinum 4529.00 263.00 +6.17 -3.56 27863
TOCOM Silver 91.40 4.90 +5.66 12.84 2481
TOCOM Palladium 1903.00 141.00 +8.00 -9.25 482
Euro/Dollar 1.4071
Dollar/Yen 81.85
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Himani Sarkar)
Reuters Terminal users can see related news and prices by
double clicking on the codes in brackets:
- All precious metals headlines
- Precious metals market reports
- Daily fixing headlines
- Technical analysis
- Indian gold reports
- European gold prices <0#PREC>
- London interbank gold forward rates <0#GOFO=>
- London silver forwards
- Gold lease rates <0#LGLR=>
- London Bullion Market Association
- New York Comex gold <0#GC:> and silver <0#SI:>
- New York platinum <0#PL:> and palladium <0#PA:>
- Asian gold prices <0#PREC>
- Australian precious metals prices <0#AUPREC=>
- Shanghai Gold Exchange prices
- Hong Kong gold exchange prices
- Hong Kong bullion prices
- Indian bullion prices <0#PREC-IN>
- Japanese producer prices
For Related News and other topics, double click on one of these
codes:
SPEED GUIDES
