(Updates prices)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, March 28 (Reuters) - Gold fell on Friday to
track weaker oil while platinum jumped to its highest in more
than a week as speculative buying accelerated after the white
metal regained $2,000 an ounce.
Spot platinum <XPT=> hit a high of $2,030 an ounce, its
best level since March 17, up from $2,023/2,033 in New York. It
struck a record $2,290 on March 4 on supply fears driven by
mining disruptions in main producer South Africa.
Platinum has gained around 50 percent in 2008 after a power
crisis in South Africa forced gold and platinum mines to shut
down for five days in January, driving platinum prices to a
lifetime high.
"Jewellery makers in Japan and China will gradually enter
the market. That's a good support for platinum. Maybe this time
the upside targets are $2,050 or $2,100," said Yukuji Sonoda, a
precious metals analyst at Daiichi Commodities in Tokyo.
Auto makers in Japan, who had purchased enough platinum
during January and February, would stock up again in the
business year starting April, said Sonoda, adding that
investment demand also supported the metal.
Platinum, used in jewellery and auto catalysts to clean
exhaust fumes, tumbled to a 6-week low at $1,805 an ounce last
week on broad-based sell-off in commodities as funds booked
profits from record highs.
Gold <XAU=> dropped to $945.50/946.30 an ounce from
$951.80/952.60 late in New York. Gold jumped to a one-week high
of $954.50 on Thursday before a rebounding dollar erased some
of the gains -- off last week's record of $1,030.80.
"There's book squaring at the end of fiscal year. The
market has gone up by more than $40 in the last few days, so
it's taking a break. Weaker oil is also a factor," said a
dealer in Hong Kong.
"I think it's going to be in rangebound trade for a while
at $940 to $955," he said.
Crude oil <CLc1> inched down but but held above $107 a
barrel, supported by a bomb attack on a major Iraqi crude
pipeline which cut exports by 20 percent from the country's
southern oil port for the first time in years.
The euro edged up to $1.5795 <EUR=>, turning back towards a
record high of $1.5905 after making a pause from sharp gains
earlier this week. []
The most active Tokyo platinum futures <0#JPL:> ended the
morning session 64 yen per gram higher at 6,349 yen to track a
firm cash market.
Gold futures for April delivery <GCJ8> on the COMEX
division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell $3.1 an ounce
to $945.7 an ounce and off last week's record of $1,033.90.
Silver <XAG=> eased to $18.24/18.29 an ounce from
$18.50/18.55 an ounce. Spot palladium <XPD=> crept up to
$446/451 an ounce from $445/450 an ounce in New York.
Precious metals prices at 0206 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 945.70 -1.70 -0.18 13.57
Spot Silver 18.27 -0.14 -0.76 23.70
Spot Platinum 2025.00 2.00 +0.10 33.22
Spot Palladium 445.00 0.00 +0.00 20.92
TOCOM Gold 3047.00 -11.00 -0.36 -0.42
19262
TOCOM Platinum 6349.00 64.00 +1.02 18.92
9276
TOCOM Silver 589.00 2.10 +0.36 8.87
499
TOCOM Palladium 1460.00 -24.00 -1.62 8.07
1308
Euro/Dollar 1.5791
Dollar/Yen 99.46
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Ben Tan)
