* News Saudi to boost crude output eases safe-haven buying
* Unrest in Libya to underpin gold prices
* Coming up: U.S. fourth-quarter GDP data due Friday
(Recasts, updates prices, market activity; changes byline, new
dateline, previously LONDON)
By Frank Tang
NEW YORK, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Gold was little changed on
Thursday, erasing early gains after a report that Saudi Arabia
was in talks to boost crude output eased worries about soaring
oil prices and escalating tensions in Libya.
Saudi Arabia is in talks with European refiners affected by
the disruption in Libyan exports and is willing and able to
plug any supply gaps caused by unrest in Africa's third-largest
producer of oil, senior Saudi sources said. []
"With the news out of Saudi Arabia that it might be willing
to negotiate to raise crude output, that dwindles the
uncertainty for the time being," said Jeff Pritchard, broker at
Altavest Worldwide Trading.
U.S. light sweet crude oil futures <CLc1> fell back below
$100 a barrel, retreating from a two-year high hit early in the
session on fears that political tension could spread through
the Middle East, disrupting global oil supplies.
Spot gold <XAU=> inched up 20 cents at $1,411.72 an ounce
by 12:30 p.m. EST (1730 GMT), off a near two-month high of
$1,417.92 set earlier in the session. Bullion has gained about
10 percent since late January when protests intensified in
Egypt against former president Hosni Mubarak.
U.S. April gold futures <GCJ1> eased $1.20 to $1,412.80.
Wall Street stocks were steadier after this week's sharp
slide, which also weighed on safe-haven buying. Analysts said
it was too soon to say the equities sell-off was over given the
unrest in North Africa and the Middle East. []
Safe-haven buying of gold continued, traders said, on news
that as many as 1,000 people may have been killed in Libya.
"The major factor currently for commodities in general
including gold is the situation in Libya and fears it might
spread over to other oil-producing countries in the Middle East
and North Africa," said Peter Fertig, a consultant at
Quantitative Commodity Research.
"It is the safe haven aspect which plays a role and also
the rise of crude oil, which could translate sooner or later in
rising CPI figures."
GOLD HEDGE
Investors often buy gold to protect portfolios against
rising inflation expectations that could erode returns on bonds
or cause currencies to lose purchasing power.
The unrest across North Africa and the Middle East boosted
other perceived safe-haven assets such as the Swiss franc,
which hit a record against the dollar <CHF=>.
Investor interest in gold has not translated into inflows
into major exchange-traded products, such as the SPDR gold
trust <GLD>, or ETF Securities' gold funds, since the protests
in Egypt in late January.
Silver, which is around its highest in 31 years, eased on
Thursday, in line with a decline in industrial metals.
Adding to the modest pressure on silver was a decline in
imports of the metal in January by top commodity consumer
China, where silver is used in industrial applications
including the growing solar energy sector. []
Spot silver <XAG=> dropped 1 percent to $33.17, having
touched 31-year peaks above $34 on Tuesday.
Reflecting healthy investor interest in silver, where the
futures market shows near-term prices are now above those for
later delivery, holdings in the world's largest silver-backed
ETF, the iShares Silver Trust <SLV>, rose to one-month highs.
Platinum <XPT=> fell 0.5 percent to $1,781 an ounce, while
palladium <XPD=> was a touch lower at $776.47.
Prices at 12:30 p.m. EST (1730 GMT)
LAST NET PCT YTD
CHG CHG CHG
US gold <GCJ1> 1414.70 0.70 0.1% -0.5%
US silver <SIH1> 33.185 -0.113 -0.3% 7.3%
US platinum <PLJ1> 1787.00 10.30 0.6% 0.5%
US palladium <PAH1> 778.10 3.55 0.5% -3.1%
Gold <XAU=> 1413.69 2.17 0.2% -0.4%
Silver <XAG=> 33.20 -0.31 -0.9% 7.6%
Platinum <XPT=> 1782.24 0.74 0.1% 0.9%
Palladium <XPD=> 775.72 -0.78 -0.1% -3.0%
Gold Fix <XAUFIX=> 1411.50 -3.00 -0.2% 0.1%
Silver Fix <XAGFIX=> 33.28 -1.00 0.0% 8.7%
Platinum Fix <XPTFIX=> 1772.00 0.00 0.0% 2.4%
Palladium Fix <XPDFIX=> 770.00 3.00 0.4% -2.7%
(Additional reporting by Amanda Cooper and Rebekah Curtis in
London and Rujun Shen in Singapore; Editing by David Gregorio)
