Platinum takes lead in New York precious metals upturn

New York (Platts)--16Oct2006

After lagging behind gold for more than two weeks, platinum has shown
some leadership in New York Monday, with the nearby contract making strong
gains and helping palladium in its rally also.

The January 2007 platinum futures contract soared to $1,092.50/oz on the
NYMEX at 9:54 EDT (13:54 GMT) for a gain of $9.20 over last Friday's
settlement. Following platinum higher was the nearby December palladium
contract, which has gained $8.05 to reach $324/oz when it last traded at
10:08am.

"There were some investor liquidation in Tokyo overnight then gold
rallied and platinum was right behind, then platinum took over the lead," said
a New York trader. Platinum had experienced heavy liquidation and was now
hesitating to move higher, he added.

Another trader noted that "platinum is a lot more nervous on the short
side than the other precious metals" and it could go much lower should another
round of liquidation occur.

--Ovid Abrams, ovid_abrams@platts.com

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