(Updates prices to late afternoon)
By Chikafumi Hodo
TOKYO, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Cash platinum was hemmed in a tight
band near its record high on Friday as another all-time high in
Japanese futures prices provided solid support due to concerns
over supply problems in South Africa.
Spot gold <XAU=> was solid above $900 an ounce as the metal
was supported despite the dollar jumping more than 1 percent
against the euro on Thursday.
"There is no ceiling for platinum now as long as supply
worries in South Africa remain," said Tatsuo Kageyama, an analyst
at Kanetsu Asset Management in Tokyo.
"You just can't sell platinum considering that the country
which supplies 80 percent of the world's supply is facing
trouble," Kageyama said.
Cash platinum was trading at $1,842/1,852 an ounce as of 0703
GMT, from $1,841/1,846 late in New York on Thursday when it hit a
record $1,850 an ounce.
The spot precious metals market lacked momentum as many Asian
dealers are away for the Lunar New Year holiday, but surging
Japanese futures prices kept cash prices supported.
The benchmark platinum futures contract for December delivery
<0#JPL:> on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange rose 1.8 percent to a
record high of 6,119 yen a gram on Friday.
The key TOCOM price has gained about 7 percent since the
start of the week.
South Africa has appealed to mining companies for help in
cutting power consumption to ease a power crisis caused by the
failure of electricity generation to match economic growth.
Platinum producers in the country, which represents about 80
percent of the world's output, are still facing power problems
after halting mining operations for five days in January with a
significant loss of production.
Spot gold <XAU=> edged up to $909.80/910.70 an ounce, from
$908.80/909.50 late in New York on Thursday.
"Gold appears to be lacking momentum, but at the same time
we've confirmed that it's very solid," Kageyama said.
Kageyama noted gold managed to stay above $900 by late U.S.
trade despite the dollar's rise.
A stronger dollar usually pressures gold, which is largely
priced in dollars globally, because it becomes costlier in key
overseas trading areas like Europe and Asia.
Gold was supported by news that safety shutdowns and
operational woes hit AngloGold Ashanti's <ANGJ.J> fourth-quarter
results. The world's third-biggest gold miner said a power crisis
would dent future production. []
Peruvian miner Buenaventura <BUEv.LM><BVN.N> said on
Wednesday it would pay $434 million to unwind hedges on gold due
for delivery in 2010 and 2012. []
COMEX gold futures advanced further in Asia after rising in
New York on Thursday. The April contract <GCJ8> was trading up
$3.9 or 0.4 percent at $913.9 from the New York settlement.
The December TOCOM gold contract <0#JAU:> hit a one-week high
of 3,168 yen a gram, up 38 yen or 1.2 percent from Thursday.
Precious metals prices at 0707 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover
Spot Gold 909.50 0.70 +0.08 9.22
Spot Silver 16.86 0.06 +0.36 14.15
Spot Platinum 1842.00 1.00 +0.05 21.18
Spot Palladium 426.00 5.00 +1.19 15.76
TOCOM Gold 3165.00 36.00 +1.15 3.43 55889
TOCOM Platinum 6098.00 85.00 +1.41 14.22 41949
TOCOM Silver 586.20 13.20 +2.30 8.35 1026
TOCOM Palladium 1499.00 11.00 +0.74 10.95 3262
Euro/Dollar 1.4488
Dollar/Yen 107.43
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except for silver which is in yen
per 10 grams, spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Reporting by Chikafumi Hodo)
