* Gold lifted by weak dollar, oil rally but volume muted
* Bullion put options bid over calls
* Premiums rise for gold bars in Tokyo
(Updates prices, adds comments, changes dateline, previously
LONDON)
By Frank Tang
NEW YORK, March 17 (Reuters) - Gold rose on Thursday on a
combination of rallying crude oil, a decline in the dollar and
an inflow into a major exchange-traded fund, with volume muted
amid caution over Japan's nuclear crisis.
A wave of cross-asset buying lifted gold. Global equity
markets rebounded after three days of selling despite Japan,
and oil rallied more than 3 percent on unrest in the Middle
East and North Africa.
"If more uncertainty does play out in the marketplace, we
may finally see gold catch fire, and if the dollar continues to
fall, I think gold will continue to find support," said Jeffrey
Pritchard, analyst at futures broker Altavest.
Sentiment also improved after data showed U.S. consumer
prices rose at their fastest pace in more than 1-1/2 years in
February, even as most economists agreed inflation pressures
remained generally contained. []
Spot gold <XAU=> rose 0.3 percent to $1,403.32 an ounce by
2:08 p.m. EDT (1808 GMT).
U.S. gold futures for April <GCJ1> settled up $8.1 at
$1,404.2 an ounce. U.S. COMEX trade was about three times
weaker than Wednesday's volume and one-third lower than its
30-day average, preliminary Reuters data showed.
Spot silver <XAG=> traded in lockstep with gold but was
later down 0.2 percent at $34.28 an ounce.
Prices of gold put options were bid over calls, as bullion
investors used a strategy combining options and futures to
protect against downside risk, floor traders said.
"Since we've had such a big move up recently, investors buy
puts and sell calls to lock in what they have," COMEX gold
options floor trader Jonathan Jossen said.
Premiums for gold bars rose to as much as $2 an ounce in
Tokyo, double from earlier this week, as a record-high yen
boosted demand and supply tightened. []
The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR
Gold Trust <GLD>, said its holdings edged up to 1,217.295
tonnes by March 16 from 1,212.745 tonnes by March 15, their
lowest since May of last year. []
Platinum and palladium fell as the market fretted about a
loss of demand due to car plant closures in Japan. Platinum and
palladium tumbled to 3-1/2-month lows of $1,654 and $684.50 an
ounce respectively, before turning higher.
Platinum <XPT=> gained 0.7 percent to $1,697.99 an ounce
and palladium <XPD=> rebounded 2.2 percent to $710 an ounce.
Prices at 2:08 p.m. EDT (1808 GMT)
LAST/ NET PCT YTD
CLOSE CHG CHG CHG
US gold <GCJ1> 1404.20 8.10 0.6% -1.2%
US silver <SIK1> 34.258 -0.214 0.0% 10.7%
US platinum <PLJ1> 1706.90 6.40 0.4% -4.0%
US palladium <PAM1> 716.80 11.75 1.7% -10.8%
Gold <XAU=> 1403.32 4.02 0.3% -1.1%
Silver <XAG=> 34.28 0.08 0.2% 11.1%
Platinum <XPT=> 1697.99 11.49 0.7% -3.9%
Palladium <XPD=> 710.00 15.72 2.2% -11.2%
Gold Fix <XAUFIX=> 1403.75 0.25 0.0% -0.5%
Silver Fix <XAGFIX=> 34.47 -26.00 -0.7% 12.5%
Platinum Fix <XPTFIX=> 1697.00 1.00 0.1% -2.0%
Palladium Fix <XPDFIX=> 712.00 4.00 0.6% -10.0%
(Additional reporting by Pratima Desai in London; Editing by
Dale Hudson)
