Gold prices jump in London

Gold rose to its highest level in almost a month on Tuesday as record-high oil prices fuelled fears of accelerating inflation, but a drop in global demand for the precious metal caused some concern.
Demand for gold for jewellery, investment and other uses, fell 16 percent compared with a year ago to 701 tonnes in the first quarter of 2008 - the lowest quarterly figure in five years - as bullion hit a record above $1,000 an ounce, the World Gold Council said in a report. Spot gold hit a high of $919.60 an ounce, its highest level since April 23, up from $905.00/906.40 an ounce late in New York on Monday.
"Obviously the worries about inflation continue and are getting worse," said Daniel Hynes, metals analyst at Merrill Lynch. Gold holdings in the world's largest exchange-traded funds (ETF) for bullion, StreetTRACKS Gold Shares, were unchanged at 583.93 tonnes after a sharp drop last week - still down from a record of 663.83 tonnes in mid-March.
Gold has lost more than 12 percent in value since spiking to a record high of $1,030.80 on March 17, on profit taking and a recovery in the US dollar against other currencies. But high oil prices, which raises fears of inflation, may offer support. Gold futures for June delivery on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange added $12.1 to $917.9 an ounce in electronic trading.
Gold's gains and record high oil prices also spurred buying in platinum but the metal was still below a two-month high at $2,174 hit on Monday ahead of an outlook report by refiner Johnson Matthey. Platinum rose to $2,143.50/2,163.50 an ounce from $2,139.50/2,159.50 in New York.
Sentiment was bullish, with Johnson Matthey expecting the platinum market to close 2008 in a significant deficit due to output shortfalls. "With ongoing power shortages likely, we would not be surprised to see platinum prices continue to rally over the months ahead during the South African winter," investment bank Fairfax said in a report.
Platinum struck a record high of $2,290 an ounce on March 4 after a power crisis in main producer South Africa disrupted mining and sparked fear of a supply deficit. Spot silver rose to $17.44.17.50 an ounce from $16.99/17.05 late in New York. Palladium dropped to $441.50/449.50 an ounce from $444/452 an ounce.