SINGAPORE, March 22 (Reuters) - Gold prices held steady on
Tuesday, supported by a weak dollar and firm oil prices, as the
unrest in the Middle East and North Africa intensified and Japan
continued its efforts to control the nuclear crisis.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold edged up 0.2 percent at $1,428.40 an
ounce by 0043 GMT.
* U.S. gold futures was also up 0.2 percent at
$1,428.70.
* Anti-aircraft fire and explosions reverberated across
Tripoli for a third night on Monday and state television said
several sites had come under attack in the capital.
Western powers had no immediate confirmation they had
launched fresh strikes on Tripoli in a campaign to target Libyan
air defences and enforce a no-fly zone.
* In the latest sign of Japan's progress in a battle to
avert a nuclear catastrophe, Fukushima nuclear plant's operator
said that the No.1 reactor at the quake-damaged plant is now
able to receive power from the grid.
* Holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest
gold-backed exchange-traded fund, declined by more than 10
tonnes to
1,215.779 tonnes.
* TOCOM gold edged up 0.4 percent at 3,733 yen per
gram, after the market returned after a holiday on Monday.
MARKET NEWS
* Buyers emerged on Monday in U.S. stocks, enticed by the
biggest proposed merger of the year, though crises in Japan, the
Middle East and North Africa meant market volatility would
continue.
* The yen was broadly softer on Tuesday recognising the risk
of intervention, while the U.S. dollar skidded on almost
everything else as investors embraced leveraged risk trades in
stocks and commodity-linked currencies.
* U.S. crude oil futures were steady on Tuesday as supply
concerns triggered by the spreading unrest in the Middle East
supported prices, but uncertainty about demand from the world's
No. 3 consumer Japan capped gains.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
1145 U.S. ICSC chain stores yy Weekly
PRICES
Precious metals prices 0043 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Volume
Spot Gold 1428.40 3.35 +0.24 0.63
Spot Silver 36.15 0.10 +0.28 17.14
Spot Platinum 1740.99 -1.01 -0.06 -1.50
Spot Palladium 742.22 -2.78 -0.37 -7.16
TOCOM Gold 3733.00 14.00 +0.38 0.11 32129
TOCOM Platinum 4578.00 51.00 +1.13 -2.51 6482
TOCOM Silver 94.10 2.50 +2.73 16.17 773
TOCOM Palladium 1945.00 41.00 +2.15 -7.25 99
COMEX GOLD APR1 1428.70 2.30 +0.16 0.51 1963
COMEX SILVER MAY1 36.18 0.17 +0.48 16.92 558
Euro/Dollar 1.4218
Dollar/Yen 81.02
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
COMEX gold and silver contracts show the most active months
(Reporting By Rujun Shen; Editing by Himani Sarkar)
Reuters
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