* Gold near record; silver rises on upbeat U.S. data, Libya
* Coming Up: ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet presser; 1130 GMT
(Adds quotes, details)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, March 7 (Reuters) - Gold rose to near a record high and silver
jumped to its highest in more than three decades on Monday on inflation worries
triggered by rising oil prices as widening clashes in Libya deepened fears the
country was on the brink of a civil war.
Troops loyal to Muammar Gaddafi launched counter-offensives against
rebel-held towns on Sunday, increasing fears that Libya is heading for a civil
war rather than the swift revolutions seen in Tunisia and Egypt, sending U.S.
crude to its strongest in more than two years.
Spot gold added $2.50 an ounce to $1,434.45 an ounce by 0209 GMT,
within sight of a record high struck last week of $1,440.10 -- the level which
has become a key resistance.
"If we do see tension escalating further, then we could witness a new high
in gold. Besides Libya, I think investors will also be looking at other
countries within the Middle East. The example will be Saudi Arabia," said Ong Yi
Ling, investment analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore.
Saudi Arabia's council of senior clerics issued a statement on Sunday
forbidding public protests, which the rulers of the U.S. ally and key oil
exporter fear could spread following demonstrations by minority Shi'ites.
The kingdom has escaped major protests like those which toppled leaders in
Egypt and Tunisia, but the wave of unrest has reached its neighbours Yemen,
Bahrain, Jordan and Oman.
"With gold prices moving up, silver will be poised for leverage gains. I
think a little bit of economic optimism will be boosting silver. In a
short-term, I would say that silver may outperform gold," said Ong.
Silver was steady after rising as high as $36.14 an ounce, partly
driven by data showing a rebound in U.S. jobs and some physical buying by China.
The closely watched non-farm payrolls report on Friday showed an increase of
192,000 jobs as private employers hired 222,000 workers, the most since April.
That took the jobless rate down to a nearly two-year low of 8.9 percent.
U.S. gold futures for April rose $5.7 an ounce to $1,434.3 an ounce.
Gold should push higher from its near-record levels due to its appeal as a
safe haven, while iron ore should regain its upward momentum on the back of
red-hot industrial demand from Asia, forecasters told the world's largest mining
conference on Sunday.
In Japan, the Japanese retail price for gold rose to a 28-year high above
4,000 yen ($48.60) per gram on Monday as the dollar gold market neared its
lifetime peak.
The physical market was muted, but dealers expected demand from top
consumer India to pick up during the wedding season.
"We are seeing a two-way business here, but it's hard to single out any
particular country. The same goes to silver. There's good silver buying from
China," said a physical dealer in Singapore.
The high-demand wedding season is underway in India, but jewellers are
likely waiting to see if prices decline, Ong said. Jewellery is the most common
gift during religious events and weddings in India.
"I would think with prices so high, then the physical side wouldn't be so
strong. They will be waiting for prices, perhaps, to come down to about $1,400
level before they buy on dips," said Ong of Phillip Futures.
In other markets, the dollar struggled against a basket of major currencies
early in Asia on Monday after failing to get a boost from the non-farm data,
while the euro stayed supported on expectations of an interest rate hike next
month.
The Nikkei slipped 1.2 percent on Monday, handing back most of last week's
gains, as fears of more turmoil in the Middle East and higher oil prices
overshadowed solid U.S. payroll data.
Precious metals at 0209 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover
Spot Gold 1434.45 2.50 +0.17 1.06
Spot Silver 35.96 0.35 +0.98 16.53
Spot Platinum 1836.74 -4.26 -0.23 3.92
Spot Palladium 810.22 0.72 +0.09 1.34
TOCOM Gold 3807.00 46.00 +1.22 2.09 45336
TOCOM Platinum 4930.00 22.00 +0.45 4.98 9411
TOCOM Silver 94.70 3.90 +4.30 16.91 2016
TOCOM Palladium 2158.00 25.00 +1.17 2.91 246
Euro/Dollar 1.3983
Dollar/Yen 82.29
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Reporting by Lewa Pardomuan; Editing by Ed Lane)
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