Platinum prices retreated on Wednesday, falling from earlier 17-month highs of $1,654, with positive sentiment from the recent launch of new exchange-traded funds overrun by a resurgent dollar. Gold prices also buckled, pressured by unfavourable currency fundamentals, dropping 1.5 percent to below $1,120.
Spot platinum rose as high as $1,654, a level last seen in August 2008, but the dollar's strength pulled prices back to $1,624.50 by 1449 GMT, down from $1,643 quoted late in New York on Tuesday. It earlier hit an intraday low at $1,612. A US subsidiary of London's ETF Securities launched platinum and palladium exchange-traded funds earlier this month, and both metals had climbed since then.
Even though the market experienced fairly hefty losses on Wednesday, some analysts were still positive about the outlook for platinum group metals (PGMs). "We still see decent support for platinum and we can't see anything that should see massive selling. Mainly it's the ETFs but also from possible supply problems in South Africa," said Walter de Wet, an analyst at Standard Bank in London. Platinum's sister metal palladium retreated to $457.00, from $464.50 late in New York on Tuesday.
Gold prices reflected currency market sentiment, with dollar strength sapping the metal's appeal to non-US investors. Spot gold stood at $1,122.45 per ounce, down from $1,137.95 quoted late in New York on Tuesday - having earlier hit a low of $1,118.90. US gold futures for February delivery were at $1,122.50, down 1.5 percent from the settlement in New York.
Spot silver followed gold's lead, falling to $18.29 per ounce. External headwinds were gathering, with Chinese banking authorities instructing some major banks to stop new lending for the rest of January after loan growth surged in the first few weeks of the year. On the investment front, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust, said its holdings stood at 1,111.922 tonnes as of January 19, down 0.08 percent from the previous business day.
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