Gold hits highest in over two years as investors shun risk

BENGALURU (Reuters) - Gold climbed to its highest in over two years early on Wednesday, its safe-haven appeal burnished in the face of tumultuous global markets as fallout mounted from Britain's decision to leave the European Union.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold touched its highest since March 2014 at $1,364.80, and was trading up 0.5 percent at $1,362.61 an ounce by 0052 GMT. It surpassed the $1,358.20 an ounce mark hit on June 24 in the immediate aftermath of the Brexit vote.

* U.S. gold was up 0.5 percent at $1,365.30.

* Silver was up 1.2 percent at $20.15.

* Stocks on major world markets fell and benchmark U.S. government bond yields hit all-time lows on Tuesday as worries about Britain's exit from the EU pushed sterling to a fresh 31-year low.

* Yields on long-term U.S. Treasuries sank to record lows on Tuesday as global investors loaded up on U.S. government debt in hopes it would shield them from threats to the global economy.

* Holdings in SPDR Gold Trust GLD, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, rose 3.02 percent to 982.72 tonnes on Tuesday, highest since June 2013.

* Britain's vote to leave the EU presents only a modest risk to the U.S. outlook and probably will not keep the Federal Reserve from raising interest rates, San Francisco Fed President John Williams said on Tuesday.

* The Fed can be patient on raising interest rates due to low inflation and uncertainties over U.S. economic prospects, including Britain's vote to leave the European Union, New York Fed President William Dudley said on Tuesday.

* The Bank of England took steps on Tuesday to ensure British banks keep lending as the financial consequences of the country's decision to leave the EU began to materialise.

* New orders for U.S. factory goods fell in May on weak demand for transportation and defence capital goods, but growing order backlogs and lean inventories suggested the worst of the manufacturing downturn was probably over.

* Canadian mining company Centerra Gold agreed on Tuesday to buy U.S. -based miner Thompson Creek Metals for around $1.1 billion in shares and cash, including paying off nearly $900 million of debt.

(Reporting by Nallur Sethuraman in Bengaluru; Editing by Joseph Radford)