Platinum group metals (PGM) rose sharply on Tuesday after a bullish forecast that production outages earlier this year could create a supply deficit, while gold traded flat as investors awaited more clarifications on Greek aid by the eurozone.
Palladium rose over 4.5 percent for its biggest one-day gain in almost a year, after PGM specialist and refiner Johnson Matthey said it expects palladium to record its biggest deficit since 2000 this year as mine supply and sales of Russian state stocks dwindle and auto demand climbs. Palladium rose 4.6 percent to $633 an ounce by 2:29 pm EST (1929 GMT), while platinum was up 1.4 percent at $1,581.99 an ounce.
Spot gold eased 0.1 percent to $1,725.94 an ounce. US COMEX gold futures for December delivery settled down $6.10 at $1,724.80 an ounce, with trading volume slightly above its 30-day average, preliminary Reuters data showed. Silver, which is widely used by industries, rose 0.4 percent to $32.52 an ounce, tracking PGM's gains.