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Gold hit record high of $2,400.35 per ounce

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China's March exports and imports shrank

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Vietnam to increase gold bar supplies to stabilise market

(Rewrites as of 0934 GMT)

By Ashitha Shivaprasad

April 12 (Reuters) - Safe-haven gold prices scaled an

all-time record peak on Friday and was poised to post a fourth

straight weekly gain as geopolitical risks and economic concerns

surrounding China attracted robust demand.

Spot gold was up 0.9% at $2,394.87 per ounce as of

0934 GMT after hitting a record high of $2,400.35 earlier in the

session. Prices were up nearly 3% for the week.

U.S. gold futures gained 1.6% to $2,411.70.

There is potential for more upside in gold prices amid

central bank purchases and as demand for safe-haven assets rise

with growing anxiety among investors about geopolitical

conflicts escalating, said Ricardo Evangelista, senior analyst

at ActivTrades.

Doubts about "the Chinese economy feeds into worries about

growth of the global economy and this also compounds the market

sentiment of seeking safe-haven assets," he added.

Iran has signalled to Washington that it will respond to

Israel's attack on its Syrian embassy in a way that aims to

avoid major escalation, Iranian sources said.

Meanwhile, Vietnam's central bank said it will increase gold

bar supplies to stablise the market, while China's central bank

added more gold to its reserves in March.

Investors also kept a tab on data that showed China's March

exports and imports shrank, highlighting the tough task facing

policymakers as they try to bolster a shaky economic recovery.

Thursday's U.S. Producer Price Index(PPI) came in softer

than expected, a day after March's hot Consumer Price

Index(CPI).

Spot silver rose 2.3% to $29.13 per ounce, hitting

its highest levels since early 2021.

Gold's strength appears to have filtered through to support

silver prices, and industrial production figures released on

Tuesday gave a further signal on industrial demand for silver,

Frank Watson, market analyst at Kinesis Money, said in a note.

Platinum rose 1.8% to $997.51 and palladium

edged 1.1% higher to $1,058.00. All three were on track for a

weekly gain.