SINGAPORE, March 18 (Reuters) - Gold rose more than half a
percent on Friday after equities markets regained strength and
oil firmed on rising tensions in the Middle East and North
Africa, but Japan's nuclear crisis was likely to cap gains.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold added $7.56 an ounce to $1,409.96 an
ounce by 0041 GMT. Bullion was still below a lifetime high
around $1,444 struck last week.
* U.S. gold futures for April rose $6.8 an ounce to
$1,411 an ounce.
* Japanese engineers raced on Friday to restore a power
cable to a crippled nuclear power plant in the hope of
restarting pumps desperately needed to pour cold water on
overheating fuel rods and avert a catastrophic release of
radiation.
* Japanese shares jumped 3 percent and the dollar surged
against the yen on Friday after the G7 group of rich nations
agreed on joint intervention to curb the Japanese currency's
rise, showing its support as the country struggles with a
nuclear crisis. Declines in equities had prompted speculators to
sell bullion to cover losses earlier this week.
* The United Nations authorised military strikes to curb
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi on Thursday, hours after he
threatened to storm the rebel bastion of Benghazi overnight,
showing "no mercy, no pity".
MARKET NEWS
* ICE Brent crude rose more than a dollar on Friday
on fears of further escalation of geopolitical tension in the
Middle East and North Africa. Brent crude for May climbed to an
intraday high of $116.50, up $1.60.
* The Japanese yen fell more than 2 percent on Friday after
the Group of Seven (G7) finance ministers and central bankers
agreed to join a yen-selling intervention after an emergency
teleconference.
* Premiums for gold bars rose further to as much as $2 an
ounce in Tokyo, doubled from earlier this week, as a record-high
yen triggered interest in purchasing gold and supply tightened
following last week's massive earthquake and tsunami.
* Commodities roared back on Thursday as fears over the
impact of the nuclear crisis in Japan receded and as unrest in
the Middle East boosted oil, setting a key index on course for
its largest daily gain in 19 months.
DATA EVENTS (GMT)
- EZ Eurostat trade nsa, EUR Jan 2011 (1000)
- U.S. ECRI weekly index (1430)
Precious metals prices 0041 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover
Spot Gold 1409.96 7.56 +0.54 -0.67
Spot Silver 34.57 0.39 +1.14 12.02
Spot Platinum 1700.49 3.00 +0.18 -3.79
Spot Palladium 714.22 9.72 +1.38 -10.67
TOCOM Gold 3695.00 134.00 +3.76 -0.91 41665
TOCOM Platinum 4479.00 213.00 +4.99 -4.62 12857
TOCOM Silver 90.50 4.00 +4.62 11.73 1449
TOCOM Palladium 1890.00 128.00 +7.26 -9.87 199
Euro/Dollar 1.3989
Dollar/Yen 81.24
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Reporting by Lewa Pardomuan; Editing by Himani Sarkar)
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