(Adds closing in Tokyo)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, Dec 18 (Reuters) - Platinum drifted down on
Tuesday after briefly matching a record high hit the previous day
on supply concerns and robust demand for the metal, while gold
was lower and stuck in a range as the year-end approached.
Spot platinum <XPT=> matched Monday's all-time high of $1,494
an ounce before falling to $1,485/1,490 an ounce, down from
$1,494/1,498 in New York on Monday.
"The funds are buying, slowly. Precious metals should still
be in a rising trend. $1,500 and higher should be possible," said
William Kwan, a dealer at Phillip Futures in Singapore.
Supply disruptions following deadly mining accidents in South
Africa, the world's main platinum producer, and growing investor
demand for the metal mainly used in jewellery and to clean car
exhaust fumes have supported prices this year.
Platinum short-term lease rates rose to about 10 percent as
of Tuesday, according to Tokyo dealers, from 4.5 to 5.0 percent
about one month ago. Lease rates are the rate at which an
investor or trader borrows a metal.
"Banks and investors don't want to go short now as the
situation in the credit market is still unclear now," said a
senior trader at a Japanese trading house.
"Considering that the liquidity in platinum is thin compared
to gold, the market is seeing the biggest reaction in platinum,"
he said.
Investors worried about the outlook for the U.S. economy,
uncertainty in the dollar's outlook and rising energy costs have
diversified into precious metals.
Spot gold <XAU=> was at $794.40/795.10 an ounce, steady from
$794.60/795.30 late in New York on Monday, but a rebound in the
dollar and year-end book squaring after the price hit a 28-year
high of $845.40 on Nov. 7 weighed on sentiment.
"Short-term wise, there might be some pressure around the
$800 level. That's the resistance. The support is around $782,"
said Kwan of Phillip Futures.
The euro <EUR=> was little changed at $1.4400, having
slipped as low as $1.4330 on Monday, its weakest since late
October, while the dollar <JPY=> was steady at 112.90 yen.
The dollar drew support from the view that ongoing inflation
risks may limit the extent to which the Federal Reserve can lower
interest rates.
Benchmark Japanese platinum futures <0#JPL:> on the Tokyo
Commodity Exchange gained 1 percent, which encouraged buying of
cash platinum.
The October 2008 contract hit a high of 5,210 yen per gram
before ending 36 yen higher at 5,190 yen.
Johnson Matthey <JMAT.L>, the world's top platinum refiner
and fabricator, said in November the market would change course
in 2007 and see a deficit of 265,000 ounces. It had a surplus of
65,000 ounces in 2006 after seven successive years of deficits.
Platinum <PHPT.L> held by London-based ETF Securities in its
exchange-traded fund surged to 105,000 ounces last week from
35,700 ounces in early November, industry sources said.
"Fundamentals for platinum have been very strong due to
robust industrial use and fears over supplies in South Africa,"
said Shuji Sugata, manager Mitsubishi Corp Futures and Securities
Ltd in Tokyo.
"It seems the recent sharp rise in lease rates helped push up
the spot price, but $1,500 could be a tough resistance because
gold and other metals are struggling."
COMEX gold futures gave up early gains. The most active
February contract <GCG8> was trading down $0.3 an ounce at
$799.00 from the New York settlement.
The benchmark October 2008 contract on the Tokyo Commodity
Exchange <0#JAU:> ended 4 yen per gram lower at 2,901 yen.
Palladium <XPD=> was unchanged at $354/358 per ounce from New
York on Monday. Silver <XAG=> edged down to $13.86/13.91 an ounce
from $13.87/13.92 late in New York.
Precious metals prices at 0701 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Turnover
Spot Gold 794.10 1.50 +0.19 24.92
Spot Silver 13.86 0.05 +0.36 7.86
Spot Platinum 1485.00 -9.00 -0.60 31.18
Spot Palladium 352.00 -2.00 -0.56 6.02
TOCOM Gold 2901.00 -4.00 -0.14 18.65 41068
TOCOM Platinum 5190.00 36.00 +0.70 22.00 29867
TOCOM Silver 507.60 -0.40 -0.08 2.90 963
TOCOM Palladium 1308.00 26.00 +2.03 4.22 997
Euro/Dollar 1.4411
Dollar/Yen 112.99
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Additional reporting by Chikafumi Hodo in Tokyo; Editing by Ben
Tan)
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