* Gold near record; silver rises on upbeat U.S. data, Libya
* Coming Up: ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet presser; 1130
GMT
(Updates prices)
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 strengthened 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 $4.87 an ounce to $1,436.82 an ounce
by 0703 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 such as those that
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 the short term, I would say that silver
may outperform gold," said Ong.
Silver was steady after rising as high as $36.38 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 $8.3 an ounce to
$1,437 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 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 probably waiting to see if prices decline.
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.
Japan's Nikkei average tumbled on Monday, falling below a
key support level and erasing last week's gains, as fears of
more turmoil in the Middle East and higher oil prices
overshadowed solid U.S. payrolls data.
Precious metals prices 0703 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover
Spot Gold 1436.82 4.87 +0.34 1.22
Spot Silver 36.26 0.65 +1.83 17.50
Spot Platinum 1835.49 -5.51 -0.30 3.85
Spot Palladium 812.50 3.00 +0.37 1.63
TOCOM Gold 3812.00 51.00 +1.36 2.23 71381
TOCOM Platinum 4925.00 17.00 +0.35 4.88 18867
TOCOM Silver 95.70 4.90 +5.40 18.15 3051
TOCOM Palladium 2164.00 31.00 +1.45 3.20 455
Euro/Dollar 1.3980
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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