Gold gains for fifth consecutive day on safe haven demand

Gold prices rose for a fifth straight day on Tuesday, driven by safe haven demand amid continued uncertainty in the Middle East and the nuclear crisis in Japan.

Spot gold traded at $1430.27 an ounce at 1.00 pm Singapore time, while US Gold futures for April delivery were seen trading at 1430.30 an ounce. Gold futures for April delivery rose $10.30 to close at $1,426.40 on Monday on the Comex in New York.

The demand for the precious metal is also boosted by a weak dollar and rising oil prices, besides concerns over conflict in Libya and Japan’s crisis.

Oil was traded at around $102 a barrel on Tuesday in Asia, as traders remained cautious over the coalition intervention in Libya that could extend the shutdown of oil exports from the OPEC nation.

Intense fighting between the rebels and forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi during the last month has halted a significant part of 1.6 million barrels a day of crude oil produced by Libya.

The US-led military coalition issued statements confirming the attacks had continued on Sunday, the second day of operations over Libya.

The US dollar fell against its major counterparts to the lowest level in 15 months, contributing to the strength of gold as safe haven investment.

Gold prices, which gained 1.7 percent in the last three trading sessions, recorded a high of $1445.70 on March 7. Silver futures for May delivery gained 2.7 percent to $36.001 an ounce on Monday. The prices rose to $36.745 on March 7, marking the highest level since March 1980.