By Lewa Pardomuan SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Gold was steady near its strongest level in five weeks on Friday, heading for its best weekly gain since early January, on inflation fears sparked by rising oil and food prices as well as flaring Middle East tensions. As anti-government protests rock the Middle East, the White House, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the Pentagon all urged Bahrain's leaders to pull back after police attacked demonstrators in the Gulf kingdom's worst violence in decades. Spot gold added 30 cents to $1,383.60 an ounce by 0327 GMT, having hit its highest level since January 13 at $1,384.85 on Thursday after data showed U.S. core consumer prices rose 0.2 percent that month, the fastest pace in more than a year. Bullion was below a lifetime high around $1,430 hit in December. "As we see more prices in the grains move higher, we are convinced that people are saying: well OK, what's the store of value now? So they are moving to gold as a result of that," said Jonathan Barratt, managing director of Commodity Broking Services in Melbourne. "Given what's happening in the Middle East, given what's happening with foodstuff, the market remains concerned over inflationary spike." France's agriculture minister warned the United Nations that food riots like those of three years ago could break out around the world because of steep rises in food prices. In 2008, riots broke out in countries as far apart as Egypt, Cameroon and Haiti. The International Monetary Fund will warn G20 finance ministers this weekend of growing risks to the world economy from surging food prices and public finances while also advocating a somewhat weaker dollar. According to technical charts, gold -- which investors turn to as a hedge against inflation -- may end an exhausted rally at around $1,387 per ounce as a rising wedge is contracting to a point, says Wang Tao, a Reuters market analyst for commodities and energy technical. For a 24-hrs gold technical outlook: here U.S. gold futures for April hardly changed at $1,384.6 an ounce. Silver held near its highest level since 1980 on signs that investment demand was picking up. Holdings in the world's largest silver-backed exchange-traded fund, iShares Silver Trust, edged up to 10,438.56 tonnes by Feb 17 from 10,411.23 tonnes on Feb 14. Brent crude oil rose towards $103 a barrel on Friday, as unrest spreading across the Middle East fanned fears of a supply disruption in the major oil-producing region. U.S. crude edged lower, but held above $86 a barrel, after jumping more than $1.00 the previous day. Jewellers deserted the physical sector because of higher prices, but dealers noted safe-haven buying related to the tension in the Middle East. "I think no physical buyers want to buy at these levels. There are concerns about inflation in China too, but I think the Chinese are buying gold locally and not from the Hong Kong market. It seems there's enough supply there," said a dealer in Hong Kong. "I think sentiment is a bit mixed. It may want to try $1,400 again but I think physical buyers will only appear at the lower end. The market is mainly driven by speculators." China's Ministry of Commerce has asked other ministries to consider potential cuts in import taxes on a range of goods including food, two sources said on Thursday, in a move seen aimed at taming rising inflation. In other markets, shares in Asia's developed markets succumbed to a bout of profit taking on Friday after posting solid gains this week while the Swiss franc benefited from safe-haven bids due to mounting tensions in the Middle East.

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