* Platinum briefly rises above $1,600 an ounce
* Gold firms on bargain hunting
(Updates prices, adds Toyota results)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, Aug 7 (Reuters) - Platinum spurted above $1,600
an ounce on Thursday before dropping back as the impact of a
one-day strike in main producer South Africa subsided and
worries about falling demand for autocatalysts resurfaced.
A drop in quarterly earnings of Toyota Motor Corp <7203.T>,
the world's biggest automaker, reflected the slowing U.S.
economy and poor car sales which have dragged down platinum
prices from record high above $2,000 an ounce in March.
Autocatalysts account for more than 60 percent of global
platinum use.
Spot platinum <XPT=> fell to $1,592.50/1,612.50 an ounce
from $1,594.50/1,614.50 late in New York on Wednesday, when it
rallied 2 percent after a national strike in main producer
South Africa forced mines and factories to shut.
Follow-through buying lifted platinum to a high of $1,603
on Thursday but it struggled to hold the gains. Platinum hit a
six-month low of $1,517 this week after poor results of car
companies threatened to cut demand.
"It's oversold, so there's bargain hunting. But the trend
continues to be bearish," said Kazuhiko Saito of Interes
Capital Management in Tokyo.
Toyota posted a smaller-than-expected 28 percent drop in
quarterly net profit on a strong yen and tumbling U.S. sales
and kept its forecasts unchanged for what is set to be its most
challenging year in recent memory. []
"The environment surrounding our business has taken a sharp
turn for the worse, leading to a very tough first quarter,"
said Executive Vice President Mitsuo Kinoshita. "It will be
crucial for us to act quickly and flexibly to overcome this."
Supply fears that sent platinum to a record high of $2,290
in March reappeared after striking workers in South Africa
forced mines and factories to shut on Wednesday in a protest
against rising power, food and fuel prices. []
But dealers said Thursday's sharp movements showed the
outlook remained shaky for platinum, with automakers showing
little interest although prices were well below the record.
"There may be a bit of bargain hunting at lower levels, but
I dont see any signs that we are out of the sharp downtrend
yet. For support, I am looking around $1,507, and resistance
around $1,685," said Adrian Koh, analyst at Philip Futures in
Singapore.
The most active Tokyo platinum contract for June 2009
delivery <0#JPL:> on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange rose 55 yen
per gram higher at 5,600 yen, but off an intraday high of 5,655
yen.
Gold <XAU=> edged up to $882.85/883.85 an ounce from
$878.70/879.90 late in New York on bargain hunting following a
drop to a seven-week low this week.
"The dollar seems to be on a surge recently and that may
weigh on gold some more. I still think the $845-$850 supports
will be the next level to look at, with maybe $860-$865
providing a bit of a support in the near term," said Koh of
Philip Futures.
The euro inched up to $1.5431 <EUR=> ahead of a policy
meeting at which the European Central Bank is widely seen
leaving interest rates unchanged at 4.25 percent.
[]
New York gold futures <GCZ8> added $7.5 to $890.50 an
ounce.
Spot palladium <XPD=> edged up to $351.50/359.50 an ounce
from $349.50/357.50 late in New York. Silver <XAG=> inched up
to $16.59/16.65 an ounce from $16.51/16.57.
Precious metals prices at 0737 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 881.40 2.80 +0.32 5.85
Spot Silver 16.60 0.10 +0.61 12.39
Spot Platinum 1592.50 -2.00 -0.13 4.77
Spot Palladium 351.50 2.00 +0.57 -4.48
TOCOM Gold 3127.00 27.00 +0.87 2.19
40255
TOCOM Platinum 5593.00 48.00 +0.87 4.76
23237
TOCOM Silver 590.00 3.50 +0.60 9.06
712
TOCOM Palladium 1268.00 -19.00 -1.48 -6.14
786
Euro/Dollar 1.5458
Dollar/Yen 109.48
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Michael Urquhart)
