SINGAPORE, March 19 (Reuters) - Gold rose more than half a
percent on Monday after firm oil prices prompted safe haven
buying from investors and speculators, while technical buying
also resurfaced after bullion bounced from its weakest level in
two months. 	
    But gains may be capped by worries that a plan by main
consumer India to double its import duty could cause a temporary
slip in purchases. Silver tracked gold higher, while platinum
prices stayed at premiums to bullion on supply concerns. 	
    Gold added $9.35 to trade at $1,662.84 an ounce by
0323 GMT after posting a 3 percent fall last week in its
second-biggest weekly decline this year, on fading expectations
of more monetary easing in the United States.	
    Bullion raced to a record of around $1,920 last September on
fears the euro debt crisis could stall global growth.  	
    "You can see there's short-covering. I think it's technical.
The upside will be at $1,675 to $1,680, and there will be some
resistance there," said Ronald Leung, director of Lee Cheong
Gold Dealers in Hong Kong.	
    "Gold wants to break test these levels, but if it can't, it
will go back to $1,600 again. Let's see what happens to the
market after the increase in India's duty." 	
    India's customs duty on gold and platinum rose from March 17
after Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee announced the move on
Friday among steps to cut the deficit in his 2012/13 budget.
 	
    Indian consumers had yet to return to physical market on
Monday, having bought some gold in panic buying triggered by the
announcement on Friday. 	
    U.S. April gold rose $7.60 to $1,663.40 an ounce.	
    Money managers in gold and silver futures and options
reduced their net long positions for a second straight week in
the week of March 13, as both markets consolidated from their
late-February plunges. 	
    The fall in gold prices has prompted one or more central
banks to buy as much as four tonnes of bullion in recent weeks,
according to an industry source and a Financial Times report on
Friday. 	
    
    	
    
    U.S. crude oil futures extended gains on Monday on
continuing tensions over Iran's disputed nuclear programme and
the potential for supply disruptions in the region, which raised
fears of inflation. 	
    But a firm dollar and equities still weighed on gold as an
improving economic outlook in the United States prompted some
investors to shift their money back to riskier assets. 	
    On Friday, the benchmark Standard & Poor's 500 Index 
stayed above the 1,400 level it reached last week for the first
time since May 2008, while European stocks hit their highest
level since before the market's slump in late July.	
    The International Monetary Fund expects global economic
growth to slow, with the United States looking much improved,
although growth in emerging economies is weaker than expected,
Deputy Managing Director Zhu Min said on Monday. 	
    In Singapore, dealers waited for Indian gold jewellers to
re-enter an otherwise dull physical market. 	
    "I see some light selling from Thailand. It's very light. I
would think some people are waiting for prices to go down to the
$1,650 level," said a dealer in Singapore, referring to demand
from jewellers. 	
    Many Indian families buy gold as an investment in a climate
of high inflation and crimped real interest rates. Gold is also
an integral and important part of weddings, often representing
the wealth of a bride and acting as her security. 	
  	
  Precious metals prices 0323 GMT
  Metal             Last    Change  Pct chg  YTD pct chg    Volume
  Spot Gold        1662.84    9.35   +0.57      6.33
  Spot Silver        32.66    0.12   +0.37     17.95
  Spot Platinum    1676.24    8.78   +0.53     20.33
  Spot Palladium    699.22    0.72   +0.10      7.16
  COMEX GOLD APR2  1663.40    7.60   +0.46      6.17         8624
  COMEX SILVER MAY2  32.67    0.07   +0.20     17.03         1339
  Euro/Dollar       1.3165
  Dollar/Yen         83.40

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