SINGAPORE, March 30 (Reuters) - Gold strengthened on Wednesday on firmer equities, but investors were nervous after talk resurfaced that some central banks would have to start tightening monetary policy soon, a move which could dent bullion's appeal as a hedge against inflation.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold added $2.35 an ounce to $1,418.30 an ounce by 0027 GMT -- well below a lifetime high around $1,447 struck last week. It had dropped 0.1 percent on Tuesday as talk of central banks' monetary tightening prompted selling.
* U.S. gold futures for April rose $2.7 an ounce to $1,418.9 an ounce.
* St. Louis Federal Reserve chief James Bullard urged the U.S. central bank on Tuesday to begin reversing its campaign of monetary easing, saying it could trim its $600 billion bond-buying programme by $100 billion. [ID:nN29607548]
MARKET NEWS
* Japan's Nikkei stock average nudged higher on Wednesday, recouping the previous day's losses, after rising U.S. bond yields lifted the dollar against the yen and after Wall Street edged higher, albeit in thin trade.
* Commodity prices closed mixed on Tuesday, as investors prepared for the end of a volatile quarter, with oil rising on continued unrest in Libya, gold falling on tighter monetary policy talk, and copper tracking moderate Wall Street gains.
DATA EVENTS (GMT)
0900 EZ Business climate Mar 2011 0900 EZ Economic sentiment Mar 2011 2301 S.Korea Industrial output yy Pre Feb 2011
2315 Japan Manufacturing PMI Mar 2011
Precious metals prices 0027 GMT Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover Spot Gold 1418.30 2.35 +0.17 -0.08 Spot Silver 37.03 - 0.04 -0.11 19.99 Spot Platinum 1750.49 16.04 +0.92 -0.96 Spot Palladium 754.50 6.22 +0.83 -5.63 TOCOM Gold 3769.00 31.00 +0.83 1.07 21142 TOCOM Platinum 4670.00 64.00 +1.39 -0.55 6038 TOCOM Silver 98.20 1.30 +1.34 21.23 842 TOCOM Palladium 2012.00 56.00 +2.86 -4.05 75 Euro/Dollar 1.4120 Dollar/Yen 82.43 TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Reporting by Lewa Pardomuan; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
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