GLOBAL MARKETS-Commodities jump, Nikkei hits 3mth highs

                                
   * Commodities extend rally in yield hunt, inflation hedge
                                
 * Nikkei hit three-month highs as yen eases
                                
 * Asia ex-Japan shares retreat from 2-1/2-year highs
                                
 SYDNEY, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Gold led a rally in commodities
to hit a record on Monday while Japanese shares were at
three-month highs as demand for higher-yielding assets got a
lift from a surprisingly strong U.S. jobs report.
 A super-loose U.S. monetary policy that promises to keep U.S.
interest rates near zero for a long time has driven investors
to look for yield, in part on worries that easy policy would
fuel future inflation.
                                
 Friday's U.S. jobs report, which showed private firms
hiring at the fastest pace since April, further supported
investor demand for risk, a bounce in the U.S. dollar on
short-covering notwithstanding.
                                
 Indeed, some Japanese investors cheered the bounce in the
U.S. dollar as it tempered gains in the strong yen, offering
some reprieve to Japanese exporters.
                                
 The dollar bought 81.23 yen <JPY=> in early Asian trade,
more than a yen lower than the 15-year high of 80.21 yen hit
last week.
                                
 "We are watching whether there are more strong economic
indicators from the United States. More strong signs would push
up the dollar and encourage inflows into Japanese
export-related shares," said Hideyuki Ishiguro, a supervisor in
the investment strategy section at Okasan Securities.
 The slight retreat in the yen helped Japan's Nikkei average
<.N225> rise 0.8 percent to a three-month high, the best
performer in Asia in early trade.
                                
 The MSCI Asia ex-Japan index <.MIAPJ0000PUS> was off 0.15
percent, just under a 2-1/2-year high hit on Friday.
                                
 For the year however, the MSCI index easily outperforms the
Nikkei. It has jumped 16 percent since January, compared to a 8
percent drop in Japanese shares.
 The bounce in the U.S. dollar did little to crimp demand for
commodities. Gold <XAU=> [GOL/], a traditional hedge against
inflation, powered to a record above $1.398 an ounce.
                                
 Oil prices <CLc1> [O/R] held above $87 a barrel near a
two-year high and silver <XAG=> hit a new 30-year peak
                                
 The stronger U.S. dollar had a bigger impact in currency
markets. It pulled the euro <EUR=> under $1.40, triggering a
rush of stop-loss selling and dragged other higher-yielding
currencies such as the Australian dollar <AUD=D4> down as
well.
 (Reporting by Koh Gui Qing; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)