Tokyo platinum up sharply

Tokyo platinum prices marched higher on Wednesday on active bargain hunting and the view that strong demand for the metal would remain intact, but gold barely budged.
The most actively traded February platinum contract rose 55 yen per gram to finish at 3,032 yen, topping 3,000 yen for the first time in a week.
February platinum futures climbed on active bargain-hunting after the contract dug in its heels at a low near 2,900 yen on Monday, traders said.
"The focus is shifting back to bullish fundamentals, with the market now looking to test the key contract above 3,100 yen again," Hashimoto said.
Market bulls are focusing on strong demand, especially from China, and supply shortage concerns.
A second trader said the precious metal was also drawing support from a strong global economic outlook.
"There is also the improved economic outlook to give platinum a boost," he said.
Platinum, together with sister metal palladium, is used by car makers in catalytic converters to clean exhaust fumes.
Recent weakness in US stocks have forced some hedge funds to pull their money out of equities as well as from the base metal futures market, raising concerns that the same could happen to platinum and other precious metals.
However, many traders anticipate precious metals will remain attractive for investors given its safe-haven status.
"It's possible that weak US stocks could force hedge funds to pull out their funds from commodities," Hashimoto said.
"But considering their strong performance over the past several months, I don't think they would pull out aggressively from platinum and other (precious) metals," he said.
TOCOM silver rose across the board, boosted by the metal's strong performance in New York.
The most active February climbed 4.7 yen per 10 grams to finish at 263.6 yen, after rising to 265 yen, the highest level since August 1990, TOCOM said.
In contrast, Tokyo gold futures moved little.
The benchmark February 2005 gold contract fell two yen per gram to finish at 1,434 yen.
Other months rose by one to six yen with the exception of the June contract which ended flat.
"Gold is taking a pause...but I don't expect to see the metal decline," the trader said.
In the spot market, bullion was fetching $418.25/9.00 an ounce at TOCOM's closing bell, compared with $419.40/$420.15 last quoted in New York.