US MIDDAY: platinum posts modest losses on profit-taking

Platinum futures opened with modest losses early on Tuesday as some investor profit-taking was seen holding the white metal just below Monday's near 26-year peak, while an influential report on the outlook for platinum group metals (PGMs) was deemed bullish, traders said.
"I think much of it was probably already priced into the market and you are just seeing a little light profit-taking come in this morning," said one floor broker.
By 10:20 am EST (1520 GMT), platinum for January 2006 delivery at the New York Mercantile Exchange was trading down $1.00 at $975 an ounce, moving between $961 and $978. On Monday, the contract rallied to a life-of-contract high of $980, which marked the loftiest level for benchmark futures since March 1980.
Many PGMs players expect platinum soon to test the psychological $1,000-an-ounce level again on the back of more fund and speculator interest, traders said.
In its Platinum 2005 Interim Review, precious metals refiner Johnson Matthey said that the global platinum market is expected to remain in deficit in 2005 and that prices are expected to trade between $890 and $1,030 an ounce over the next six months.
Demand for the white metal, which is used mainly in jewellery and to clean car exhaust emissions, was forecast to rise by 2 percent to 6.71 million ounces in 2005, while supplies were also seen rising by 2 percent to 6.59 million ounces. The company also said that palladium supply surplus was expected to decline by more than 50 percent to 650,000 ounces this year from last year.
Spot platinum was last at $969/973 an ounce, compared with $970/974 last quoted in New York on Monday.
December palladium slipped $4.05 to $250.50 an ounce, trading between $247 and $254.60. On Monday, the contract rallied to $258.90, its priciest since May 2004. Spot palladium was trading a little lower at $245/248, against its prior close at $249/253.
At NYMEX's COMEX division, benchmark December gold was trading up 0.40 at $469.50 an ounce, dealing from $467.20 to $470.80.
Spot gold traded to $468.60/469.40 an ounce, against Monday's New York late quote of $467.60/468.40. December silver eased 0.20 cent at $7.78 an ounce, moving between $7.725 and $7.84. Spot was slightly higher at $7.75/77 from $7.74/76 late Monday.