NEW YORK (Dow Jones) - Gold and silver futures rose to a rebound in oil prices sent investors in metals as a hedge against inflation.
The most actively traded gold contract for April delivery added $ 1.20 to settle at $ 1427.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. About March won gold $ 1.30 to $ 1427.50.
"Geopolitical tensions underpinning the markets right now," said Ralph Preston, senior market analyst at Heritage West Financial.
Silver futures reached a new maximum of 31 years, with the nearby March contract increase of 26.9 cents, or 0.7%, to $ 36,271.
The nuclear crisis in Japan and the fighting in Libya have pushed gold and silver in recent weeks as the metals are considered havens in times of political and economic turmoil.
They are also traded as a hedge of inflation and high oil prices as a result of conflict Libya have also helped fuel the highest.
The metals rose on Tuesday as oil prices rose as the Western coalition established a no-fly zone over the North African nation suffered its first setback after a U.S. jet crashed.
But concerns are somewhat muted as U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the U.S. rate and allied air strikes on Libya is expected to decline in coming days as more on the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's air defenses are destroyed.
That helped to keep gains in gold and silver relatively small, as well as easing worries about Japan's nuclear crisis.
Tokyo Electric Power Co. (9501. TO) said that the external power was reconnected to the six reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power in modest gains by the Japanese authorities to contain a crisis severely damaged in a facility that has become an issue international concern.
"This is just a bit of a pause day," said Bill O'Neill, director of Advisors of logic.
In other precious metals, Nymex April platinum fell 0.3% while June palladium on the exchange lost 0.6%.
Settlements (ranges include open-outcry and electronic trading):
London PM Gold Fix: $1,426.00; previous PM $1,432.00
Apr gold $1,427.60, up $1.20; Range $1,419.50-$1,432.30
May silver $36.269, up 26.8 cents; Range $35.760-$36.475
Apr platinum $1,739.40, down $5.50; Range $1,733.00-$1,752.80
Jun palladium $737.85, down $4.45; Range $732.00-$750.95
-By Matt Whittaker, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2139; matt.whittaker@dowjones.com
(Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20110322-712338.html)
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