(Updates prices, adds closing in Tokyo)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Gold roared to a record on
Thursday as crude oil rose above $100 a barrel, while platinum
jumped to an historic high on speculative buying driven by
supply fears in main producer South Africa.
Not to be outdone, palladium hit a 6-1/2-year high and
silver rallied to its best level in 27 years, reflecting
renewed buying interest from funds and speculators in precious
metals.
Gold <XAU=> hit a high of $948.60 an ounce, up from
$934.80/935.60 an ounce late in New York on Wednesday, also
driven by a struggling U.S. dollar.
"There's been a movement of investment funds from other
asset classes to commodities again, and I think gold has
benefited from that move," said Darren Heathcote of Investec
Australia in Sydney.
"There's still a fair bit of safe-haven demand. Gold is
receiving support from several angles at the moment," he said.
Oil <CLc1> climbed back above $100 on Thursday, about a
dollar off record-highs, on hedge fund inflows and OPEC supply
concerns, with traders weighing U.S. economic worries against
hopes of more Fed cuts. []
The dollar was little changed against the yen and the euro,
hit by expectations the Federal Reserve will keep slashing
interest rates to prevent the U.S. economy from suffering a
sharper downturn. []
In theory, high oil prices elevate gold's appeal as hedge
against inflation, while a weaker dollar lifts the metal's
allure as an alternative investment.
U.S. gold futures also hit record high. The active gold for
April delivery <GCJ8> on the COMEX division of the New York
Mercantile Exchange rose as high as $952.4 an ounce.
Jewellers in Indonesia and Vietnam cashed in on gold's
rally, keeping gold bars on par with the spot London prices in
Singapore <GOLD/ASIA1>.
Spot platinum <XPT=> rose to record high of $2,182/2,192 an
ounce, from $2,120/2,130 an ounce late in New York.
Platinum has surged more than 40 percent this year after
mines in South Africa, which account for 80 percent of the
world's supply, ground to a halt for five days at the height of
last month's power crisis.
"The momentum is back. Gold has broken out of the
consolidation phase. The potential upside is definitely $1,000
in the first quarter," said William Kwan of Phillip Futures in
Singapore.
"Most of those investors are afraid they won't be having
enough precious metals: gold, silver and platinum. So they are
buying ahead," said Kwan, who pegged the upside target for
platinum at $2,200.
Japanese platinum futures rose but were off record highs,
with new margin rules having no impact on speculative buying
which have driven prices up.
The most active December contract <0#JPL:> on the Tokyo
Commodity Exchange ended by the daily 240 yen per gram limit to
7,205 yen, having fallen to as low as 6,901 yen on Wednesday.
"I don't think an increase of margin will stop this type of
speculation. Ultimately, they are still buying," said Kwan of
Phillip Futures.
TOCOM raised margins by 50,000 yen per contract for all new
positions and existing positions for all six platinum futures
contracts from Thursday until the end of the month to cope with
rising volatility.
Palladium <XPD=> hit a high of $505 an ounce, its highest
level in more than six years, to track strong platinum prices.
The metal was last quoted at $481/484 an ounce in New York.
Silver <XAG=> hit a bid high of $18.00 an ounce, its best
level since December 1980, up from $17.76/17.81 an ounce,
reflecting firm gold prices.
Precious metals prices at 0901 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 946.60 3.20 +0.34 13.68
Spot Silver 17.96 0.18 +1.01 21.60
Spot Platinum 2182.00 62.00 +2.92 43.55
Spot Palladium 503.00 22.00 +4.57 36.68
TOCOM Gold 3300.00 78.00 +2.42 7.84
124076
TOCOM Platinum 7205.00 240.00 +3.45 34.95
34611
TOCOM Silver 626.40 16.60 +2.72 15.79
2404
TOCOM Palladium 1774.00 80.00 +4.72 31.31
11801
Euro/Dollar 1.4734
Dollar/Yen 108.05
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Additional reporting by Chikafumi Hodo in Tokyo; Editing by
)
