SINGAPORE (Dow Jones)--Gold and silver were steady in Asia Tuesday, with uncertainty over Libya and Japan keeping investors guessing on near term direction. With oil and foreign exchange markets were also indecisive, volume thinned with gold only moving in a $4 range. "Technically it looks good for gold and silver, but there is nothing inevitable about new highs while there is so much event risk," said a Singapore-based trader at a European bank. After prompting knee-jerk buying Monday, the United Nations-backed attacks on Libya were no longer a driver, with oil steady and some confusion over the precise aims of the military action and how long the conflict might be. Japan was also giving mixed signals, with the situation at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant unresolved, although the Nikkei equity index rose 4.4%, indicating investor confidence is returning. At 0610 GMT, spot gold was at $1,428.40 a troy ounce, up $1.30 since Monday's New York close. Tokyo Commodity Exchange February gold was at Y3,727 a gram, up Y8. The overall climate for gold remains bullish, with U.S. real interest rates--inflation minus nominal interest rates--negative amid a climate of increasing commodity price inflation, Gluskin Sheff said in a report. "Gold will remain a safe haven and will benefit from a further move by real short-term U.S. interest rates into negative terrain," the bank's chief economist, David Rosenberg, said. Spot silver was flat at $36.10/oz, platinum was down $3 at $1,743/oz and palladium dropped $2 to $744/oz. -By James Campbell, Dow Jones Newswires; 65-64154-082; james.campbell@dowjones.com

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