* Oil up as violence simmers in Libya, Saudi curbs protests
* Moody's Greece downgrade puts euro zone debt back in focus
* Gold/silver ratio hits 13-year low below 40
(Updates prices, adds comment)
By Jan Harvey and Rebekah Curtis
LONDON, March 7 (Reuters) - Gold struck a record high in
Europe on Monday as violence in the Middle East and North Africa
pushed oil prices to 2-1/2 year highs, bolstering the metal's
appeal as a safe haven from risk and inflationary pressures.
Spot gold <XAU=> hit a record $1,444.40 an ounce, also
gaining momentum after a downgrade of Greece's credit rating by
Moody's reignited euro zone sovereign debt worries, which helped
fuel a bullion rally last year. []
"That's added a buzz to the market," Robin Bhar, an analyst
at Credit Agricole, said of the downgrade.
Gold was at $1,437.85 an ounce at 1513 GMT from $1,431.95
late in New York on Friday, while U.S. gold futures for April
delivery <GCJ1> rose $10.1 an ounce to $1,438.70.
Supporting gold's status as a haven from inflationary
pressures, crude prices rose as conflict in oil-producing Libya
intensified. <nTOPMEAST> []
Violence across North Africa and the Middle East has boosted
gold's appeal as a protection from risk in recent weeks.
"The geopolitical risk premium is clearly reflected in the
gold price," Bhar added. "The violence (has) intensified which
does prompt suggestions of civil war in Libya," he said.
"...you've still got the risk of contagion to other
countries like Bahrain and Saudi," he added.
Saudi security forces detained at least 22 minority Shi'ites
who protested last week against discrimination, activists said
on Sunday, as the kingdom tried to keep the wave of Arab unrest
outside its borders. []
RISING INFLATION
"The energy complex has not only a high weighting in
commodity price indices, but also in consumer price indices,"
said Peter Fertig, a consultant at Quantitative Commodity
Research. "Therefore, the surge of oil prices will have an
impact on CPI inflation."
"As gold has the reputation to serve as a hedge against
inflation, the fear of rising inflation rates is another factor
supporting gold and other precious metals."
Appetite for gold in Asia remained strong, with Indian gold
futures hitting record highs and the Japanese retail price for
gold hitting a 28-year high above 4,000 yen ($48.60) per gram on
Monday. []
Gold should push higher from its near-record levels due to
its appeal as a safe haven, forecasters told the world's largest
mining conference on Sunday. []
JPMorgan analyst Michael Jansen told the Prospectors and
Developers (PDAC) conference in Toronto that he expects gold
prices to average at $1,465 an ounce this year.
Among other precious metals, silver <XAG=> was bid at $36.54
an ounce against $35.61. The metal rose to its highest since
early 1980 in earlier trade at $36.52 an ounce.
The gold/silver ratio meanwhile fell below 40:1 for the
first time since February 1998, demonstrating silver's
outperformance of gold.
"With the situation in the MENA region still extremely
volatile and oil continuing (to) rise, both gold and silver are
likely to extend on a mix of safe-haven and anti-inflationary
hedging," said TheBullionDesk.com analyst James Moore.
Meanwhile platinum <XPT=> was at $1,833.99 an ounce against
$1,841, while palladium <XPD=> was at $800.50 against $809.50.
(Editing by Alison Birrane)
