Platinum prices soar to new heights, gold at 25-year high

New York (Platts)--9May2006

Building on the sharp upswing Monday, platinum has soared to a new
all-time high on the NYMEX Tuesday during intra-day trading, but it
could lead to another record for the second day in a row. A bullish mood
has enveloped the entire precious metals complex, with gold, silver and
palladium storming back from their declining ways Monday to reach new
multi-year highs.

The nearby July platinum contract rose $31.10 to $1,233/oz at 10:10am on
the NYMEX, and June palladium rose $14.55 to $389.80/oz. On the COMEX, the
nearby June gold futures contract rose $16.60 to $696.50/0z, its highest level
since 1980, and June silver gained 38cts to reach $14.16/oz.

In its daily commentary on precious metals, Barclays Capital said it
remained bullish on precious metals. "While the large speculative length and
possibility of near-term weakness in oil suggest potential for further
consolidation, we expect it to be rather short-lived and for the uptrend to
resume before too long," said Barclays. "The environment of geopolitical
tensions, growing inflationary fears and uncertainty over currency issues
between US and China remains extremely supportive for gold."

--Ovid Abrams; ovid_abrams@platts.com

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