(Updates prices to TOCOM close, adds comments)
By Chikafumi Hodo
TOKYO, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Cash platinum powered up near its
record on Friday as another all-time high in Japanese futures
prices due to concerns over supply problems in South Africa
provided solid support.
Spot gold <XAU=> edged above $910 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 $1,846/1,853 an ounce as of
0858 GMT, up 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 surged 2.3
percent to a record high of 6,151 yen a gram on Friday.
The key TOCOM price has gained about 7 percent since the
start of the week.
"Platinum is up because of South Africa. Funds are shifting
into platinum as it is performing very well along with grains,
while oil and gold prices are slowing their gains," said Hisaaki
Tasaka, market analyst at Ace Koeki in Tokyo.
"The platinum market is small so uptrend in prices will be
exaggerated even by small inflows of funds," Tasaka said.
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=> rose to $915.60/916.50 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.
Kanetsu's Kageyama noted gold managed to stay above $900 in
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
$10.1 or 1.1 percent at $920.1 from the New York settlement.
The December TOCOM gold contract <0#JAU:> closed at a
one-week high of 3,174 yen a gram, up 45 yen or 1.4 percent from
Thursday.
Precious metals prices at 0857 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 915.45 6.65 +0.73 9.94
Spot Silver 16.98 0.18 +1.07 14.96
Spot Platinum 1846.00 5.00 +0.27 21.45
Spot Palladium 427.00 6.00 +1.43 16.03
TOCOM Gold 3174.00 45.00 +1.44 3.73 69556
TOCOM Platinum 6143.00 130.00 +2.16 15.06 52848
TOCOM Silver 589.60 16.60 +2.90 8.98 1442
TOCOM Palladium 1511.00 23.00 +1.55 11.84 4082
Euro/Dollar 1.4479
Dollar/Yen 107.60
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, Editing by Peter Blackburn)
