Gold rebounded Wednesday after the previous day's 2 percent drop, as investors shifted the focus back on loose monetary policies and geopolitical tensions and away from Japan's nuclear crisis. Bullion was underpinned by a European Central Bank policymaker's comment which suggested the ECB could possibly delay an April interest hike, and after Moody's credit rating agency downgraded Portugal by two notches late Tuesday.
"Now that the dust has settled a little bit and we've had particularly a recovery in energy and other commodities, that's given a tailwind to gold," said HSBC analyst James Steel. "If the focus ceases to be entirely on Japan, and the Middle East again gets some headlines, then the geopolitical risk levels will come back in and support gold." ECB's comment gave gold a slight boost and economists said it had not significantly diluted expectations of a rate hike in April.
European and US shares slid for a third day, and that stoked safe-haven buying in gold and also US Treasuries, as the nuclear crisis in Japan raised concerns about slower world-wide growth. Spot gold gained 0.3 percent to $1,397.50 an ounce at 12:38 pm EDT (1638 GMT), while US gold futures for April delivery rose 0.4 percent to $1,398.10.
Unrest that swept the Middle East and North Africa earlier this year, a key factor pushing gold to a record $1,444.40 an ounce last week, continues to simmer. The Libyan army closed in on the opposition bastion of Benghazi on Wednesday, while in Bahrain forces fired tear gas in a crackdown on protesters.
Japan's nuclear crisis appeared to be deepening after workers withdrew briefly from a stricken power plant because of surging radiation levels and a helicopter failed to drop water on the most troubled reactor. Platinum and palladium turned lower as buyers remain nervous on fears the earthquake in Japan could hurt demand for the metals used in auto catalysts. Platinum slipped 0.4 percent to $1,693.99 an ounce, while palladium dropped 0.8 percent to $698.72. Silver gained 0.5 percent to $34.47 an ounce.
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