Gold, silver, platinum prices fall, palladium rebounds

New York (Platts)--24Apr2006

Precious metals were mostly on the decline Monday morning on the New York
futures exchanges, with silver and gold leading the way on a downward path.

Gold has taken on a somber tone after firming up earlier in London. The
nearby June contract fell $12.50 to $625.80/oz at 9:54am (1354 GMT), coming
off the morning's high of $632/oz.

Silver was also falling fast, with the nearby July contract plunging
49.2cts to $12.60/oz at 9:54am, after rallying to a high of $12.95/oz soon
after opening at $12.70/oz Monday morning.

Analysts and traders cite profit taking as the main reason for the early
sell off in these metals. Nevertheless, according to Barclays Capital: "The
overall sentiment remains positive for now, as is evident from the healthy
buying on price weakness, and upside risks remain."

Barclays noted that its technical analysts believe that in the absence of
a dip back below $591/oz or key support at $575/oz, they have not closed the
door on higher levels for gold.

Platinum has been moving mainly in tandem with gold; the nearby July
contract fell $11.20 to $1,128/oz at 9:51am, while June palladium gained $1.20
to reach $361/oz.

---Ovid Abrams; ovid_abrams@platts.com

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