By Lewa Pardomuan SINGAPORE (Reuters) - U.S. gold futures leapt and spot gold rose to an over two-month high on Friday, adding to a late rally a day ago as investors frantically searched for assets that might be safe havens after heavy losses in equity markets. Gold drew renewed interest from investors seeking some security as the month-old financial crisis doled out more punishment, with Japan's Nikkei tumbling more than 11 percent, poised for its biggest one-day drop since the 1987 crash, on fears that a global recession was now unavoidable. Spot gold rose $2.50 or 0.27 percent to $914 an ounce from New York's notional 2115 GMT close, its fifth day of gains, at one point hitting $925.05, its highest since July 31. It is now just 11 percent off its all-time peak of $1,030.80 in March. The gold futures contract for December delivery on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, which missed out much of Thursday's late rally as the U.S. Dow collapsed by 7.3 percent in an avalanche of selling at the close, rallied to high of $931.3 an ounce before easing back to $916.9 an ounce. "Investors only concentrate on gold. Stock prices and other commodities are not so good," said Yukuji Sonoda, precious metals analyst at Daiichi Commodities in Tokyo. "The next target for gold is $930. Next week, I do hope $940 and $950 will be tested," said Sonoda, adding that an increase in ETF holdings showed growing interest from investors. Gold traded around $930 and $940 in July, having softened from its record high in March when investors rushed to buy gold on a falling U.S. dollar and deepening U.S. financial troubles. Although the financial turmoil has intensified over the past month, the U.S. dollar has risen against the euro as investors fear the U.S. woes will spread quickly to the rest of the world, tempering the gains for bullioon, traders say. But demand from individual investors remains robust, with holdings by the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the SPDR Gold Trust, rising by nearly two tonnes to another record at 765.74 tonnes as of Thursday. For details on SPDR holdings, click on http://www.exchangetradedgold.com/iframes/usa.php "I think a lot of people will be speculating about $1,000 gold again, and I personally think its not very far away," said Adrian Koh, analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore. U.S. crude oil futures fell about 3 percent to a fresh 12-month low on Friday on concerns the growing global financial crisis would send demand for fuel slumping. Asia stocks dropped sharply, with Japan's Nikkei plunging 11 percent, while the yen rose on growing fears that no government effort so far has rejuvenated credit markets or kept the global economy from a path to recession. For more stories on the growing global financial crisis, cl ick on Platinum was trading at $999.50 ounce, down $19.00 an ounce from New York's notional close, having hit a 1-week high of $1,026.50 on Wednesday, partly driven by recent gains in gold. Some dealers said buying interest from investors helped pluck platinum from a near-three year low hit last week, but dismal car sales that threatened to cut demand for autocalysts were likely to cap gains.

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