PRECIOUS-Gold tops $950/oz as safe-haven buying resumes

                                
 By Risa Maeda
                                
 TOKYO, March 2 (Reuters) - Gold rose more than 1 percent to
above $950 per ounce on Monday, as concerns over the financial
sector and the global economy sent stock markets lower and
polished up the metal's allure as a safe-haven.
                                
 Japan's Nikkei stock average <.N225> dropped 3.8 percent,
while Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan <.MIAPJ0000PUS> slid
more than 4 percent, to their lowest level since late November,
as more financial firms turned to governments or shareholders
for cash.
                                
 "Gold has rallied due to bad news coming in over the
weekend like AIG and HSBC, and stocks are lower," said a
precious metals trader at a bank in Singapore. [ID:nN01330373]
[ID:nHKG49918]
                                
 A U.S. jobs report due later this week is expected to show
the world's largest economy shed 648,000 jobs in February. This
would probably prove another drag on conventional assets after
Friday's data showing U.S. gross domestic product shrank by its
fastest rate since 1982 in the fourth quarter.
                                
 Spot gold <XAU=> was at $951.80 per ounce by 0642 GMT, up
1.3 percent from its notional close on Friday.
                                
 A volatile stock market and end-month position adjustments
helped send the precious metal to a two-week low of $926.75 on
Friday, a retreat of almost 8 percent from an 11-month high of
$1,005.40 hit on Feb. 20.
                                
 The pull-back from that recent high is over, said Shuji
Sugata, manager at Mitsubishi Corp Futures and Securities'
research team.
                                
 "Weak stocks, gloomy data and instability in the financial
sector are all in favour of gold. The most important thing, I
think, is data, including Friday's U.S. jobs report. Since no
strong numbers are expected, investors are now factoring in
worsening data," he said.
                                
 But any price gains would be limited unless strong inflows
resume into gold-backed exchange-traded funds, analysts said.
                                
 The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the
SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, said its holdings remained at a record
1,029.29 tonnes as of Feb. 27, unchanged from Feb. 26.
[GOL/SPDR]
                                
 The Nasdaq Dubai is expected to announce details of a
gold-backed tradeable security later on Monday. [ID:nL241121]
Dubai has a long-established market for gold bullion and
jewellery fuelled by strong demand from the Arab world and
India.
                                
 Another sign of a halt of inflows to the gold market came
from U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showing
that speculative players reduced their net long positions to
161,865 lots on gold futures in New York at Feb. 24, down 2.4
percent from a week earlier. [ID:nN27378439]
                                
 U.S. gold futures for April delivery <GCJ9> rose $10.8 or
1.2 percent to $953.3 an ounce in electronic trade on Monday.
The contract settled Friday down 10 cents on the COMEX division
of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
 Precious metals prices at 0649 GMT
 Metal             Last    Change  Pct chg  YTD pct chg
Turnover
 Spot Gold         951.95   12.05   +1.28     49.75
 Spot Silver        13.22    0.17   +1.30      2.88
 Spot Platinum    1081.50   10.50   +0.98     -4.46
 Spot Palladium    195.00    1.50   +0.78    -41.27
 TOCOM Gold       2995.00   18.00   +0.60     22.49      
41488
 TOCOM Platinum   3408.00   98.00   +2.96    -19.89      
13105
 TOCOM Silver      411.00    1.80   +0.44    -16.68        
392
 TOCOM Palladium   620.00    6.00   +0.98    -50.60        
213
 Euro/Dollar       1.2585
 Dollar/Yen         97.45
 TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
prices in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
 (Additional reporting by Miho Yoshikawa; Editing by Michael
Urquhart)