Tokyo platinum falls further

Tokyo platinum futures extended losses on Thursday after failing to retain gains as profit-taking dominated, reflecting a slight recovery of the yen and a fall in oil prices.
But traders were watching whether platinum would rebound after news that a strike had begun at the world's second-largest platinum producer, Impala Platinum (Implants) late on Wednesday after failure to reach a wage deal.
The Implants news emerged after South Africa's National Union of Mineworkers postponed a strike on Wednesday at the world's largest platinum producer, Angloplat, which led to heavy liquidation of TOCOM platinum the previous day.
Sentiment has been deteriorating since then, especially after the market witnessed substantial selling on Wednesday, when the key August contract hit a five-month high of 3,014 yen per gram and spot platinum rose to around $880 per ounce.
Key TOCOM August platinum closed down 8 yen per at 2,926 yen. It had moved in a range of 2,910 to 2,951 yen. Other contracts closed down 11 yen to up 3 yen. Spot platinum was quoted at $854/$859 an ounce compared with $847/$852 in New York.
Except for platinum, other yen-based precious metals generally maintained their bullish undertone as fund operators seek hard assets at times when the outlook for stocks and bonds is unclear due to surging oil prices, traders said.
Key crude oil futures extended losses in Asia after falling in New York on Wednesday for the first time in 10 days. Nymex light crude for November delivery was down 16 cents from the US close at $49.35 a barrel in ACCESS trading.
It hit record highs around $50.47 in the week. Gold maintained its bullish sentiment as the dollar continued to struggle against the euro. The euro was little changed at $1.2323/26.
The August TOCOM gold futures contract closed down 1 yen per gram at 1,470 yen.
It had moved in a range of 1,466 to 1,475 yen. Other contracts closed down 2 yen to up 2 yen. TOCOM gold hit a 1-1/2 year high of 1,480 yen on Wednesday, but profit-taking orders were lined up around the high.
Spot gold was quoted at $412.75/3.45 per ounce compared with the late US level of $412.65/3.40. Below are closing prices for TOCOM's most active precious metals contracts, with the day's turnover for each metal.