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Commodity Online

NEW YORK: Gold bounced back to the top and extended gains on Tuesday as investors began shifting some money back into it.

The precious yellow metal rose to $US940.60/941.40 an ounce from $US934.60/935.40 an ounce late in New York on Tuesday, also driven by purchases from Japanese speculators.

Silver rose to $US17.91/17.96 an ounce from $US17.78/17.83 an ounce. Spot palladium rose to $US451/456 an ounce from $US442/447 an ounce.

Platinum tracked gold's gains amid supply fears after a power crisis disrupted mining in main producer South Africa. Palladium and silver also firmed but remained below their recent highs.

Spot platinum rose to $US1964/1,974 an ounce from $US1960/1970 an ounce, but was still well below a record of $US2290 an ounce hit on March 4.

The most active Tokyo platinum futures ended the morning session 173 yen per gram higher at 6,149 yen to track a firm cash market.

Gold futures for April delivery on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange added $US6.80 an ounce to $US941.7 an ounce but were off last week's record of $US1033.90.

Gold hit a record of $US1030.80 on March 17 before a broad sell off in commodities dragged down prices to a one month low around $US904, briefly hurting investors' confidence in the metal that is used as an alternative investment and a hedge against inflation.