UPDATE 6-Platinum hits record on supply; futures at $2,000

                                
 (Adds New York closing prices, market activity)
                                
 By Veronica Brown
                                
 LONDON, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Platinum prices hit a record
high for the 10th successive trading day on Wednesday as power
supply problems for mines in top producer South Africa
continued to worry the market.
                                
 Spot platinum <XPT=> spiked almost 3 percent to a record
$1,985/1,995 by afternoon trade in New York.
                                
 That compared with $1,920/1,925 in New York on Tuesday when
the market sold off sharply on profit-taking, while U.S.
platinum futures surpassed the $2,000 milestone to hit a record
$2,001.40.
                                
 Spot prices are now up almost 30 percent on the year so
far, after a surge of 37 percent last year.
                                
 Dealers said news that South Africa's power utility would
not be able to supply mines with their electricity needs for
years fueled strong buying of the white metal.
                                
 Senior sources close to South African state utility Eskom
told Reuters that it is considering a complete power supply
buy-back from all of the country's aluminium smelters plus one
in Mozambique for the balance of 2008 as part of a multi-strand
approach to solving the country's power crisis.
[ID:nN13371886]
                                
 South Africa, responsible for roughly 80 percent of world
platinum output, has been beset by production problems, with
mine closures due to accidents dominating last year and the
power crisis hobbling operations more recently.
                                
 "There are still issues and problems with production still
affected, gold production too by the same token, and this is
causing the spike," said Peter Hillyard, head of metal sales at
AMZ Investment Bank.
                                
 Traders and analysts say prices of the metal, used in
jewellery and to clean auto exhaust emissions, could only rise
further under current circumstances.
                                
 "The ongoing risk of further bottlenecks in energy supply
in South Africa is creating the basis for further upside
potential. News on the supply side remains worrying,"
Commerzbank commodities analyst Eugen Weinberg said in a note
to clients.
                                
 LACKLUSTRE GOLD
                                
 Gold prices, by contrast, lacked the momentum seen in
platinum, with prices looking set for a period of consolidation
from recent rallies.
                                
 Spot gold <XAU=> was at $906.70/907.50 per ounce by New
York's last quote at 2:15 p.m. EST (1915 GMT), having earlier
dropped to $885.30, compared with $907.70/908.50 quoted in New
York late on Tuesday.
                                
 "The market has just passed the support line, and I think
we are going to look at a two-way street again. But I think
people are still looking for gold if any of the shoes drop in
the economy," said Adam Hewison, president of INO.com in
Annapolis, Maryland.
                                
 Hewison said he would be "very concerned" if gold dropped
below $880 because the metal could test a low of $850 if major
support was broken.
                                
 Gold fell on Tuesday after billionaire investor Warren
Buffett said he had offered to reinsure $800 billion of debt
guaranteed by bond insurers, easing some worries about further
fallout from the credit crisis. [ID:nN12216014]
                                
 Currency fundamentals were less favourable for gold, as the
euro lost upward momentum against the dollar.
                                
 A stronger U.S. currency makes dollar-priced gold less
attractive for non-U.S. investors.
                                
 On physical markets, purchases from jewellers and investors
started to pick up as prices moved away from historic highs,
but business remained slow in main consumer India despite the
wedding season. [ID:nSP166370]
                                
 Industry-sponsored World Gold Council said in a report on
Wednesday that global gold demand in the fourth quarter dropped
17 percent year-on-year to 843.0 tonnes due to a sharp drop in
jewelry buying by top consumer India. [ID:nN12265518]
                                
 In other bullion markets, the gold contract for April
delivery at the COMEX division of the NYMEX <GCJ8> settled down
90 cents at $910.20 an ounce.
                                
 Palladium <XPD=> also lacked the momentum seen on platinum,
easing to $430/435 an ounce from $434/437 an ounce late in New
York on Tuesday and off a six-year high of $447 an ounce.
                                
 Silver <XAG=> rose to $17.31/17.36 an ounce from
$17.13/17.18, its Tuesday finish in New York -- but was off
Tuesday's 27-year high of $17.60 an ounce.
 (Additional reporting by Frank Tang in New York, Lewa
Pardomuan in Singapore, editing by Matthew Lewis)