* Spot silver poised for best month since May 2009
* Spot gold to break above $1,423.57 - technicals
* Coming up: Euro zone inflation; 1000 GMT
(Updates prices)
By Rujun Shen
SINGAPORE, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Spot gold inched up on Monday,
heading for its best month since last August, boosted by fears
over the deteriorating situation in Libya and spreading violence
in the region, supported by rising oil prices.
In Libya, armed rebels who have seized control of Zawiyah,
close to the capital Tripoli, were preparing for a counterattack
as leader Muammar Gaddafi vowed to cling on to his 41-year-old
rule. For stories on the unrest in Libya, Middle East and North
Africa, click:
Crude oil prices jumped on fear of supply disruption in the
region.
Political turmoil in the region has been supportive of gold
prices in recent weeks. Gold was poised to stage a monthly gain
of 6 percent, its best since last August.
"The sentiment is still generally bullish," said a
Singapore-based dealer, "If oil keeps going up, people will
continue to bet on gold, as a hedge against inflation and
against risks caused by the unrest in the Middle East."
Spot gold inched up 0.3 percent to $1,413.40 an ounce
by 0621 GMT, extending gains from the previous session.
The most active U.S. gold futures contract also edged
up 0.3 percent to $1,414.10.
Spot gold is poised to break a resistance at $1,423.57, a
high touched on Jan. 3, based on its wave pattern and a channel
technique, said Reuters market analyst Wang Tao.
For a 24-hrs gold technical outlook:
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/WT/20112802082922.jpg
Gold rose 1.5 percent last week, compared to a 14 percent
jump in U.S. crude oil.
"We haven't seen increasing volatility in gold as we see in
the oil market," said Yingxi Yu, an analyst at Barclays Capital.
"It does seem like momentum in gold is not as strong. This
time around, even when things are bad, gold hasn't been such a
popular investment, because things are looking brighter in the
global economy."
Economists have revised growth forecasts, and the tightening
cycle is already under way in emerging economies, which is
likely to diminish gold's appeal as a hedge against an uncertain
economic environment.
The latest data showed Japanese factory output rose in
January for a third straight month and manufacturers expect
further gains in coming months, a sign that the economy is on
track for a moderate export-driven recovery.
The physical market has remained calm, with Thailand and
Indonesia selling scrap and some investors buying gold, the
Singapore-based dealer said.
A weekly report of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading
Commission showed that speculators had increased their net long
positions in gold by Feb 22, from a week earlier.
Spot silver gained 0.5 percent to $33.46 an ounce, on
course for its best month since May 2009, up 19 percent on the
month.
Spot palladium led the precious metals complex with a
1.6 percent climb, at $798.22.
Precious metals prices 0621 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Volume
Spot Gold 1413.40 4.25 +0.30 -0.43
Spot Silver 33.46 0.15 +0.45 8.43
Spot Platinum 1816.88 13.38 +0.74 2.79
Spot Palladium 798.22 12.82 +1.63 -0.16
TOCOM Gold 3722.00 1.00 +0.03 -0.19 46052
TOCOM Platinum 4847.00 56.00 +1.17 3.22 17330
TOCOM Silver 87.20 1.80 +2.11 7.65 1223
TOCOM Palladium 2120.00 48.00 +2.32 1.10 472
COMEX GOLD APR1 1414.10 4.80 +0.34 -0.51 9855
COMEX SILVER MAR1 33.47 0.57 +1.72 8.16 612
Euro/Dollar 1.3757
Dollar/Yen 81.64
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
COMEX gold and silver contracts show the most active months
(Editing by Ed Lane)
Reuters
Terminal users can see related news and prices by
double
clicking on the codes in brackets:
- All precious metals
headlines
- Precious metals market reports
- Daily fixing headlines
- Technical analysis
- Indian gold reports
- European gold
prices <0#PREC>
- London interbank gold
forward rates <0#GOFO=>
- London silver forwards
- Gold lease rates <0#LGLR=>
-
London Bullion Market Association
- New York Comex
gold <0#GC:> and silver <0#SI:>
- New York
platinum <0#PL:> and palladium <0#PA:>
- Asian
gold prices <0#PREC>
- Australian
precious metals prices <0#AUPREC=>
- Shanghai Gold Exchange prices
- Hong
Kong gold exchange prices
- Hong Kong
bullion prices
- Indian bullion prices
<0#PREC-IN>
- Japanese producer prices
For Related News and other topics,
double click on one of
these
codes: SPEED GUIDES
))
