(Adds activity in physical sector)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Platinum hit a record high
for the ninth straight trading day on Tuesday after a power
crisis in South Africa forced Anglo Platinum <AMSJ.J>, the
world's main producer of the metal, to cut output forecast.
Platinum <XPT=> rose to $1,940/1,945 an ounce from
$1,933/1,941 late in New York on Monday, driven by investors
buying and record-high platinum futures in Tokyo.
"It's the same news, the same old news which has driven
platinum prices to move higher," said Peter Tse, a dealer at
Scotia Mocatta in Hong Kong.
"Basically there's no resistance. With a relatively small
and thin market, platinum price can drive anywhere, unlike gold
and silver in which you see more participants and more
liquidity," he said.
Japanese platinum futures also hit a record high, with the
most active December 2008 contract <0#JPL:> on the Tokyo
Commodity Exchange rising 226 yen per gram to 6,369 yen.
The rally gained pace after Angloplat said the electricity
supply problem alone would slash production by as much as
120,000 ounces in 2008, and had cost the company 30,000 ounces
in lost output since January. []
Analysts say the platinum deficit could widen to more than
400,000 ounces by the end of 2008, compared with about 265,000
ounces in 2007. The market had a surplus of 65,000 ounces in
2006 following seven successive years of deficits.
"I think we can see $2,000 soon. Platinum is a bit stronger
on tight supply," said Ronald Leung, director of Lee Cheong
Gold Dealers in Hong Kong.
Mines across South Africa, which accounts for four-fifths
of the world's supply of the metal, ground to a halt for five
days at the height of the power crisis last month. Platinum is
used in jewellery and auto catalysts to clean exhaust fumes.
Other precious metals were off highs, with gold ignoring
news the Group of Seven rich nations on Saturday approved the
sale of gold by the International Monetary Fund from April as
part of a broad reform of its budget. []
"I don't think players have fully returned in the region.
Probably, we have to wait until market participants have
returned from their holidays," said Tse of Scotia Mocatta.
"I would say today it's a $919 to $930 range but the
medium-term range is still looking good," he said.
Gold <XAU=> hit a high of $924.60 an ounce before slipping
to $921.00/922.00 an ounce, down from $922.70/923.40 an ounce
late in New York but within sight of a record high of $936.50
an ounce hit in early February.
The physical sector saw selling of gold scrap from
Indonesia but trading had yet to pick up in other parts of Asia
after the Lunar New Year. Gold bars were on par with spot
London prices in Singapore <GOLD/ASIA1>.
Palladium <XPD=> firmed to $441/445 an ounce from $437/440
an ounce in New York -- not far from Monday's 6-year high of
$443.
COMEX's April gold futures <GCJ8> dipped $2.0 an ounce to
$924.7 an ounce.
Silver <XAG=> eased to $17.40/17.45 an ounce from
$17.47/17.52 an ounce, holding within sight of Monday's 27-year
high of $17.54 an ounce.
The euro <EUR=> eased to $1.4505, inching towards a
two-week low of $1.4440 hit last week. The dollar <JPY=> was
little changed at 106.85 yen.
Precious metals prices at 0530 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 920.75 -2.95 -0.32 10.57
Spot Silver 17.40 -0.08 -0.46 17.81
Spot Platinum 1939.00 7.00 +0.36 27.57
Spot Palladium 441.00 1.00 +0.23 19.84
TOCOM Gold 3188.00 14.00 +0.44 4.18
44340
TOCOM Platinum 6366.00 223.00 +3.63 19.24
41370
TOCOM Silver 603.00 13.40 +2.27 11.46
1366
TOCOM Palladium 1543.00 32.00 +2.12 14.21
3608
Euro/Dollar 1.4514
Dollar/Yen 106.89
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver, which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Tomasz Janowski)
