Tokyo platinum futures came under downward pressure on Thursday as the yen's renewed upturned after a strong Japanese corporate survey prompted active selling of the white metal by investors across the board.
Yen-based platinum futures on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) have fallen for five out of six sessions, losing about 6 percent over that period. On Thursday, benchmark June TOCOM platinum finished down 36 yen per gram at 2,579 yen.
It moved in a range of 2,559 to 2,601 yen. Other contracts close down 32 to 47 yen. "The yen's strength depressed TOCOM platinum. Yesterday's rise was purely short-covering but underlying sentiment is extremely weak, with a lack of actual buying by end-users," said Tatsuo Kageyama, an analyst at Kanetsu Asset Management.
The yen rose beyond 108 yen against the dollar in Asia, reflecting a stronger-than-expected showing for the Bank of Japan's quarterly "tankan" business sentiment survey. The yen stood around 108.70-108.80 in New York on Wednesday.
The quarterly tanker's headline figure, the diffusion index (DI) for large manufacturers, rose to plus 22 in June from plus 12 in March. Those were the highest since August 1991 and well above economists' consensus forecast of plus 17.
Traders said there are plenty of investors willing to liquidate positions in TOCOM platinum, reflecting its bearish sentiment in the past several weeks. "Platinum looks very vulnerable.
The market is watching whether the benchmark contract can sustain 2,500 yen in the near term," Kageyama said.
He said falls would gather speed once the contract broke through that level, with no major support seen until 2,338 yen, which was hit a year ago.
The level is also seen important as it has established a trend that took the benchmark futures contract to a 16-1/2 year high of 3,127 yen in mid-April.
The market was also watching appetite from end-users. "This is a very difficult level. We are watching whether end-users will actually start bidding when spot platinum falls to around $750," said Kaman Goon, a research section manager at Okato Shoji Co Ltd.
Spot platinum was quoted at $781/786 per ounce compared with Wednesday's $785/790.
Trends in the US economy continue to play an important role in setting the tone of the precious metals market.
US jobs data on Friday will be very important to judge whether more rates rises are coming in the future, traders said. "Gold and other commodities have benefited from low interest rates, but a rapid additional rate rise in the United States would surely prompt an outflow of funds from commodities markets," Kanetsu's Kageyama said.
June TOCOM gold closed down 3 yen per gram at 1,372 yen. Other contracts closed 1 to 5 yen lower. Spot bullion was quoted at $393.00/3.75 per ounce unchanged from late US levels.
Below are closing prices for TOCOM's most active precious metals contracts, with the day's turnover for each metal.
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