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LONDON, May 19: Gold extended gains to hit its highest level in nearly a month above $900 an ounce on Monday on the back of speculative buying as oil held near record high, raising fears of inflation.
Platinum tracked gold’s gains and jumped to its highest level in more than months. Speculation that precious metals refiner Johnson Matthey would release bullish supply and demand outlook report for 2008 also spurred buying.
Spot gold hit a high of $911.60 an ounce, its highest level since April 23, up from $899.55/900.95 late in New York on Friday but remained below a lifetime high of $1,130.80 hit on March 17.
Previous attempts to revisit the record high have been meet by heavy profit taking, which saw gold fall to a four-month low at $845 an ounce in early May.
Whether gold will hold above $900 is a difficult question.
Around about $920 should be the psychological resistance for the metal, said Walter De Wet, analyst at Standard Bank.
Gold futures for June delivery on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange added $9.10 an ounce to $909.00 an ounce in electronic trading.
Spot platinum rose to $2,146.50/2,166.50 an ounce from $2,126/2,141 an ounce late in New York, having earlier hit an intraday high of $2,174 an ounce — its best level since March 7.
Johnson Matthey, the world’s largest distributor of platinum, will release the report on Monday.
Given the thinner conditions expected this week, and the potential reaction the JM report/Platinum Week related rumours, there’s the potential to see the metal push above $2,200 an ounce and even challenge close to the metal’s all time highs, TheBullionDesk.com said in a report.
Platinum struck a record high of $2,290 an ounce on March 4, after a power crisis in main producer South Africa disrupted mining and sparked fear of a supply deficit.
The automobile and glass industries are aggressive buyers for physical platinum, but retail investors cash in, said a dealer in Tokyo.
Spot palladium firmed to $445.50/453.50 an ounce from $443/451 on Friday.—AFP
