Platinum climbs in Asia

Platinum rose to its strongest level in four months on Wednesday and palladium held near its highest since September 2011 on growing hopes the global economy was on the mend, while gains in equities hurt gold's safe-haven appeal. Platinum hit a high of $1,715.25 an ounce and was at $1,708.49 by 0813 GMT, up $2.50. It powered to a record $2,290 in early 2008 after a power crisis in main producer South Africa disrupted mining and sparked fears of a supply deficit.
Palladium gave up early gains and stood at $760.88 an ounce, down $2.56. The metal had risen as high as 766.22 an ounce on Tuesday. Gold slipped $2.04 an ounce to $1,670.56, a drop partially triggered by news that India's central bank would consider imposing value and quantity restrictions on gold imports by banks under extreme conditions.