(Updates prices)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Gold gained on Friday and
held near an historic high hit the previous day, while platinum
powered to record high as persistent supply problems in South
Africa triggered another round of speculative buying.
Gold <XAU=> rose to $945.10/945.90 an ounce from
$944.40/945.20 an ounce late in New York. On Thursday, it
rallied to $953.60, its highest level ever, before a sharp
decline in crude oil erased much of the day's gains.
Dealers said the prospect of more rate cuts in the United
States supported gold's appeal as an alternative investment and
kept the upward momentum intact. Bullion has risen as much as
14.5 percent so far this year.
Silver held near a 27-year high and palladium was within
sight of a 6-1/2-year high.
"The next probable stop in gold is around $955 and that is
likely to be witnessed in coming days. Beyond that, $970 and
$980 also seem possible," said Pradeep Unni, an analyst at
Vision Commodities in Dubai.
Gold could also undergo a correction but a price dip would
attract bargain hunting and buying interest from main consumer
India ahead of the busy marriage season in April, when demand
for gold jewellery picked up, he said.
"Momentum is showing no signs of cooling and any pullback
will ideally trigger fresh buying interest. The risk is quite
high at such high levels but as long as gold trades above the
$930 level, a major slide is unlikely."
Crude oil <CLc1> extended falls on Friday after dropping
more than $1 the previous day asgrowing inventories and weak
economic data in the United Statesfuelled concerns that demand
may soften in the world's largest oil consumer.
Spot platinum <XPT=> jumped to a record high of $2,185 an
ounce, up from $2,151/2,161 late in New York.
"People are happy to buy at lower levels," said Ronald
Leung, director of Lee Cheong Gold Dealers in Hong Kong, adding
that there were also purchases from auto makers.
"We don't know what the higher levels are, maybe $3,000 or
$4,000. The only thing is that it seems people are happy to
buy. That's all," he said.
Platinum, used in jewellery and auto catalysts, has jumped
more than 40 percent this year after mines in South Africa,
accounting for 80 percent of world output, were shut for five
days at the height of last month's power crisis.
South African power utility Eskom said it had contracted 30
million tonnes coal of the 45 million tonnes it needs over the
next two years to help resolve a crippling power crisis.
The dollar was within sight of a two-week lows versus the
euro after data showing the weakest regional factory activity
since the last U.S. recession in 2001 boosted expectations for
a large Federal Reserve interest rate cut. []
Japanese platinum futures also hit a new all time high. The
most active December contract <0#JPL:> on the Tokyo Commodity
Exchange rose 83 yen per gram to 7,288 yen.
Palladium <XPD=> rose to $512/517 an ounce from $510/515 an
ounce, within sight of Thursday's 6-1/2-year high of $525 an
ounce.
Silver <XAG=> rose to $17.93/17.98 an ounce from
$17.84/17.89 an ounce -- not far from Thursday's 27-year high
of $18.03 an ounce.
Precious metals prices at 0405 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 945.10 0.80 +0.08 13.50
Spot Silver 17.92 0.08 +0.45 21.33
Spot Platinum 2168.00 17.00 +0.79 42.63
Spot Palladium 511.00 1.00 +0.20 38.86
TOCOM Gold 3288.00 -12.00 -0.36 7.45
36822
TOCOM Platinum 7280.00 75.00 +1.04 36.36
23004
TOCOM Silver 624.00 -2.40 -0.38 15.34
604
TOCOM Palladium 1808.00 34.00 +1.92 33.83
11469
Euro/Dollar 1.4804
Dollar/Yen 107.44
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by )
