PRECIOUS-Gold, palladium set for weekly falls after market mayhem

(Updates prices, adds graphic)
* Palladium on track for worst week on record
* Silver slides 3%
* Platinum set for biggest weekly fall since 2010
* GRAPHIC-2020 asset returns: http://tmsnrt.rs/2jvdmXl

By Sumita Layek
March 13 (Reuters) - Gold gained 1% on Friday but was still
set for its worst week in more than three years after this
week's wider market sell-off forced investors to sell bullion to
cover margin calls.
Palladium prices rose by more than 11% during the trading
session, after losing nearly 28% in the previous session, but
they were still on track to record their biggest-ever weekly
fall amid the wider market turmoil.
Spot gold XAU= , which dropped by as much as 4.5% on
Thursday, was up 0.9% to $1,590.96 per ounce by 1224 GMT on
Friday. For the week, it was down 5.2%, the biggest such fall
since November 2016. U.S. gold futures GCv1 were down 0.3% to
$1,585.70.
"We had some liquidation in gold ... some might be surprised
that gold was down and say it's not a safe haven asset any more,
but in this context, it helps generating liquidity at any time
you need it," said UBS commodities analyst Giovanni Staunovo.
"Some are using the opportunity to buy (gold) at a lower
level (now). Also, there's some stabilisation in the market and
that's helping as well."
In a move to stem a market meltdown, the Federal Reserve on
Thursday offered $1.5 trillion in short-term loans, signalling
more aggressive action to stimulate the economy. European stocks bounced back from their worst day ever, as
signs of a U.S. stimulus package helped to soothe fears about an
economic shock from the contagion. MKTS/GLOB .EU "We expect prices to remain supported by risk-off sentiment
in the coming months as uncertainty surrounding global growth
persists with the COVID-19 pandemic now spreading throughout the
world," Fitch Solutions said in a note.
An oil price war will also support gold, Fitch added.
Palladium XPD= was up 5.7% to $1,936.03 per ounce, but was
headed for a weekly decline of more than 24%.
"It's a small market, very illiquid and has low trading
volumes. If someone wants to sell, we get these ugly moves,"
UBS's Staunovo said.
"We should see it staying in deficit. But, if it's a risk
off environment and considering the weak market size of
palladium, we will see these large shifts. But again, lower
prices might offer (buying) opportunities."
Platinum XPT= gained 4.3% to $795.96, but was down 11.5%
for the week, its steepest dip since 2010.
Silver XAG= fell 0.6% to $15.72.

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Gold, palladium bounces back after virus-led sell-off https://tmsnrt.rs/3cWv4LO
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