PRECIOUS-Gold jumps 1% as attacks on Saudi lift safe-haven bets

* Asian equities dip; yen sees safe-haven demand
* Fed, BoJ meetings in focus later in the week
* Gold may retest resistance at $1,524/oz - technicals

(Adds comment, updates prices)
By Karthika Suresh Namboothiri
Sept 16 (Reuters) - Gold prices jumped 1% on Monday as
attacks on Saudi Arabia's oil facilities dented risk appetite,
boosting demand for the safe-haven bullion, while investors
awaited for clues on monetary easing from major central banks
this week.
Spot gold XAU= was up 1% at $1,503.10 per ounce as of 0739
GMT. Prices had dipped 1.2% in the previous week on hopes that
an end to the U.S.-China trade tiff could be near.
U.S. gold futures GCcv1 rose 0.8% to $1,510.70 per ounce.
The attacks on Saudi oil installations have lead to a
rotation of interests out of stocks and into safe-havens, said
OANDA analyst Jeffrey Halley.
The risk-averse sentiment in the market underpinned the
bullion, often seen as an alternative investment during times of
political and financial uncertainty.
With escalating tensions in the Middle East and hopes of
more stimulus measures from major central banks, the next target
for gold will be $1,530, Halley added.
Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebel group claimed
responsibility for the attack over the weekend on the world's
biggest oil-processing facility. However, a senior U.S. official said that evidence indicated
Tehran was behind it, and President Donald Trump said the United
States was "locked and loaded" for a potential response to the
attack, souring its already strained relations with Iran.
The event hurt risk sentiment in the markets, with Asian
equities trading lower, and the safe-haven yen JPY= up 0.4%
against the dollar. MKTS/GLOB
Investors also await the outcome of the U.S. Federal Reserve
and Bank of Japan's policy meetings on Wednesday, for signals on
their future policy path. FEDWATCH "(The Saudi attacks) are supportive for gold, but prices are
still under pressure as investors are awaiting the Fed's
announcement," said Hareesh V, head of commodity research at
Geojit Financial Services, adding that $1,465 was the current
support level for gold.
Central banks globally are facing increasing pressure to dole
out monetary support for flagging economies as the U.S.-China
trade dispute hurt trade and business sentiment. Lower interest
rates reduce the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding
bullion and weigh on the dollar.
Dismal Chinese data indicating that industrial production
had grown at its weakest pace in 17-1/2 years also weighed on
market sentiment. Spot gold could retest resistance at $1,524 per ounce, as it
has temporarily bottomed around a support at $1,480, said
Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao. Among other precious metals, silver XAG= jumped as much as
3% to $18 an ounce and platinum XPT= was up 0.7% at $954.34.
Meanwhile, palladium XPD= rose 1.2% to $1,626.11 per ounce.

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