Gold rallied to its highest level in a month on Wednesday after oil struck another record over $130 a barrel, and platinum jumped more than 3 percent as strong fundamentals and a weaker dollar spurred buying. Spot gold hit a high of $927.00 an ounce, its highest since April 21, before slipping to $922.70/923.70 an ounce on profit taking, still higher than $920.20/921.40 late in New York on Tuesday.
"I am looking at $935-$940 for nearby resistance After that, we will be looking at $950-$955," said Adrian Koh, an analyst at Philip Futures in Singapore. "Technically, it looks gold and platinum could go up some more."
Gold was still more than $100 below a record high of $1,030.80 hit on March 17. Spot platinum rallied to a high of $2,198.50 an ounce, its highest level since March 6, up from $2,133/2,153 in New York. Platinum, used in jewellery and auto catalysts, powered to a record at $2,290 an ounce on March 4 after a power crisis in main producer South Africa disrupted mining and sparked fears of a supply deficit.
"I have to say the strong short-term uptrend on platinum is still intact and there's probably more upside to come and that could probably go well with more upside on gold," said Koh. Platinum was likely to head towards record highs of $2,290-$2,300 an ounce after it broke a key resistance of $2,192, said Koh.
Precious metals refiner Johnson Matthey has said platinum may spike to a record high of $2,500 an ounce this year and see another supply deficit due to production shortfalls and strong demand. Oil rallied to a record high of $130 a barrel on the back of a weak dollar and concern about supplies. The euro shot up to $1.5773, hitting its highest level since April 24.
Rising energy prices boost gold's appeal as a hedge against inflation, and a weak dollar elevates bullion's appeal as an alternative investment. Gold's gains often lift other precious metals. "If (gold) can hold this sort of $915 level in the next couple of days, I would have thought it can push back up to $950," said David Thurtell, analyst at BNP Paribas, who pegged support at the 50-day moving average around $912.
"Gold could go back over $1,000, probably in Q3." Gold prices above $1,000 an ounce are sustainable because of strong consumer demand in Asia, with supplies remaining tight as higher costs force miners to scrap marginal projects, a Barrick Gold Corp executive said on Tuesday.
Gold futures for June delivery on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange added $0.2 to $920.4 an ounce in electronic trading, having risen on Tuesday to $924.10, the highest level since April 23. Spot silver rose to $17.69/17.74 an ounce from $17.59/17.66 late in New York, having earlier risen to a high of $17.85 - its highest level since April 23. Spot palladium edged down to $442.50/450.50 versus $443.00/448.00 in late New York.
Comments
Comments are closed.