* Gold, silver retreat from from highs
* Fed monetary policy, inflation in focus
* Coming up: U.S. import/export prices on Tuesday
(Recasts, updates prices, adds comment, link to graphic,
changes dateline, previously LONDON)
By Frank Tang
NEW YORK, April 11 (Reuters) - Signs of a possible Libyan
peace deal knocked gold down from a record high hit early on
Monday on the back of a weaker dollar and inflation worries,
while silver backed off from a 31-year high but was still on
track for its ninth straight gain.
Fading safe haven demand undermined bullion after it hit
$1,476.21 an ounce for the first time, and weaker oil was also
a negative after the African Union signaled progress in Libyan
peace talks.
Spot gold <XAU=> was down 0.5 percent at $1,465.76 an ounce
by 12:37 p.m. EDT (1637 GMT). U.S. gold futures for June
delivery <GCM1> were last off $7.50 at $1,465.90.
Spot silver <XAG=> retreated from its session high $41.93,
the strongest since 1980. May silver <SIK1> recovered from a
brief dip into negative territory and was up 11.7 cents at
$40.725.
The gold-to-silver ratio -- the number of silver ounces
needed to buy an ounce of gold -- fell to a 28-year low toward
35 on Friday. (Graphic: http://r.reuters.com/jyx88r)
"There is a lot of retail flows into silver products,
particularly coins. Many smaller investors are allocating more
of their portfolios to silver today," said Robert Lutts, Chief
investment officer of Cabot Money Management, a wealth manager
with about $500 million client assets.
Fund managers and analysts said that silver is expected to
outperform gold in this environment because the white metal
bears a higher risk and price volatility than gold.
Investor money has flowed into to commodities in general
and precious metals in particular this month as investors worry
about the potential for rising inflation in developing markets
and changes to monetary policy in the United States.
A weaker dollar initially lifted gold. Analysts said the
dollar could further weaken because of the widening interest
rate differentials after ECB's first interest rate hike after
the 2008 financial crisis last week.
Janet Yellen, the Fed's vice chair, said the U.S. central
bank's ultra-loose monetary policy remains appropriate given
high unemployment and tame underlying inflation trends.
[]
Gold has been a major beneficiary since the Fed has kept
short-term rates near zero since December 2008.
Among other precious metals, platinum <XPT=> was down 0.7
percent at $1,790.24 an ounce, while palladium <XPD=> eased 0.2
percent at $789.47.
Prices at 12:44 p.m. EDT (1644 GMT)
LAST NET PCT YTD
CHG CHG CHG
US gold <GCM1> 1467.40 -6.70 -0.5% 3.2%
US silver <SIK1> 40.730 0.127 0.3% 31.7%
US platinum <PLN1> 1797.60 -14.50 -0.8% 1.1%
US palladium <PAM1> 789.70 -4.50 -0.6% -1.7%
Gold <XAU=> 1466.30 -6.40 -0.4% 3.3%
Silver <XAG=> 40.69 -0.16 -0.4% 31.9%
Platinum <XPT=> 1791.49 -12.26 -0.7% 1.4%
Palladium <XPD=> 786.97 -3.78 -0.5% -1.6%
Gold Fix <XAUFIX=> 1468.00 -1.50 -0.1% 4.1%
Silver Fix <XAGFIX=> 41.37 115.00 2.9% 35.1%
Platinum Fix <XPTFIX=> 1802.00 2.00 0.1% 4.1%
Palladium Fix <XPDFIX=> 795.00 0.00 0.0% 0.5%
(Additional reporting by Jan Harvey in London; Editing by
Alden Bentley)
