Tokyo precious metals futures firmed on Wednesday, buoyed by the dollar's jump to a six-week high against the yen, although gains were limited in the face of weak spot metals prices, brokers said. Benchmark June platinum on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) closed up two yen per gram at 2,725, with other months gaining four to 15 yen. "A weaker yen induced short-covering in TOCOM.
But there were no aggressive buyers, with spot metal breaking the key $800 level," one Tokyo broker said. Spot platinum was at $799/804 an ounce, down from $804.50/809.50 in late New York.
Positive comments on Chinese demand from South African miner Anglo American Platinum, the world's biggest platinum producer, barely affected TOCOM trade, although they seemed to have positive implications for the market, the broker said.
Sandy Wood, commercial director for Angloplat, said on Tuesday that Chinese demand for platinum was likely to match last year's level as buying picked up when prices fell from 24-year peaks.
British platinum refiner Johnson Matthey projected in its annual review in May that Chinese platinum purchases for making jewellery would weaken again in 2004 after falling last year for the first time in years.
The dollar was at 110.96/97 yen, compared with a six-week high of 111.19 yen touched overnight and the late Tokyo level on Tuesday of 109.91/92 yen.
The dollar held near multi-week highs against major rivals on Wednesday after a boost from a stronger-than-expected consumer confidence report that suggested a recent soft patch in the US economy could be short-lived.
Spot gold was quoted at $388.30/80 an ounce, against $386.80/387.30 in late New York. Below are closing prices for TOCOM's most active precious metals contracts, with the day's turnover for each metal.
Closing prices are in yen per gram except for silver, which is in yen per 10 grams.
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