Platinum futures ended higher on Friday as the launch of US platinum exchange-traded notes boosted sentiment, while gold also finished up on record crude oil prices.
GOLD : June contract on Comex division of New York Mercantile Exchange settled up 3.70 at $885.80 an ounce. Ranged from $871 to $890.80. US crude oil futures surged to a record $126.25 a barrel on supply worries, boosting gold's appeal as a hedge against inflation.
The June contract ended $2.27 at $125.96. Gold largely driven by crude oil prices, trading in lock step with movement of the energy market: Leonard Kaplan, president of Prospector Asset Management.
Gold has dramatically underperformed the energy market, and either gold should rise sharply or crude oil prices were overvalued: Kaplan. Comex estimated final futures volume at 138,757 lots, options turnover at 8,791 contracts. Spot gold at $886.30/888.30 at 2:15 pm EDT (1815 GMT), compared with $881.40/882.60 at the close on Thursday.
The London afternoon gold fix was $876. PLATINUM: July ended up $59.50, or 2.9 percent, at $2,101.80 an ounce. News of new platinum trading products boosted sentiment: dealers Investment bank UBS launched two exchange-traded notes offering long and short trading strategies in platinum on Friday, underscoring strong investment demand for the precious metal.
The ETN news gave platinum an additional boost this week, and strong support from the physical platinum market and robust buying by the trades also cited Ralph D'Esposito, Comex floor trader. Spot traded at $2,074.00/2,094.00.
PALLADIUM : June finished $7.95, or 1.8 percent, at $443.85 an ounce. Spot at $432/440.
SILVER : July closed up 4.00 cents at $16.910 an ounce, ranging from $16.530 to $17.135. Spot silver at $16.82/16.88 against on Thursday's late quote of $16.85/16.91.