* Gold edges up as oil steadies after falls
* Platinum up more than 2 pct on bargain hunting
* Johnson Matthey expects 2 pct rise in autocatalyst
demand
(Updates prices, adds quotes)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Gold edged up on Wednesday to
track a slight rebound in oil, while platinum rose over 2
percent following a mine closure in South Africa and a supply
and demand report that showed demand for autocalysts could
still rise.
Dealers noted speculative buying in Japan and Hong Kong
after Lonmin <LMI.L>, the world's third-biggest platinum
producer, closed high-cost minesand said it was cutting costs
to survive a market downturn. []
Precious metals refiner Johnson Matthey <JMAT.L> said
global demand for platinum catalytic converters would climb 2
percent in 2008 on higher consumption in Europe and emerging
economies, despite a sharp decline in North America.
[]
"The recovery of the auto sector and its ancillary products
is key for the recovery in platinum demand," said analyst
Pradeep Unni at Richcomm Global Services.
Platinum <XPT=> was trading at $843.00 an ounce, up $16.50
from New York's notional close on Tuesday, when it gained
around 2 percent.
Johnson Matthey expected platinum to fall to $700 over the
next sixmonths if the economic crisis continues. []
"Their price forecast of $700 to $1,400 is very reasonable.
But there's no actual demand at this moment. Jewellery and auto
companies are not buying," said Yukuji Sonoda, precious metals
analyst at Daiichi Commodities in Tokyo.
Despite the gains, fears about the future of the
financially ailing General Motors <GM.N> weighed on the market
and could trigger another bout of selling, he said. "Tomorrow
or the day after, the situation will gradually change," said
Sonoda.
U.S. auto executives warned Congress on Tuesday their
industry was teetering on the brink of disaster as they pleaded
for a $25 billion aid package despite political opposition to
another multibillion-dollar government bailout. []
More than 60 percent of global platinum use goes to
autocalysts to clean exhaust fumes.
Platinum roared to record of $2,290 in March as a power
shortage in main producer South Africa disrupted mining. But
prices have tumbled since then on deteriorating car sales, and
platinum also tracked declines in gold amid the banking crisis
and the global economic slowdown.
"Reading the JM report, we are around the lower ranges of
$700 to $1,400, so hopefully this would provide a bit of a
positive sentiment for platinum and maybe we could see prices
slowly drifting higher on the expected deficit," said a dealer
in Singapore.
Gold, whose movements often dictate platinum, held near New
York levels. Cash gold <XAU=> was trading at $738.10 an ounce,
up $1.30 from New York's notional close on Tuesday.
"With no strong clues for any confirmed direction, gold
continues to trade in a narrow range with a cap at $750 and
support at $720," said Unni of Richcomm Global Services,
referring to a range seen last week.
"The chart looks extremely patient and the narrow
non-directional trading range is indication of a big move in
the coming sessions which is likely to be northward biased."
Oil <CLc1> was little changed above $54 a barrel on
Wednesday ahead of data expected to show U.S. crude stocks rose
last week. []
The euro hardly changed at $1.2617 <EUR=>.
New York gold futures <GCZ8> rose $5.7 an ounce to $738.4.
Precious metals prices at 0716 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 738.10 1.30 +0.18 -11.36
Spot Silver 9.57 -0.04 -0.42 -35.21
Spot Platinum 843.00 16.50 +2.00 -44.54
Spot Palladium 214.50 1.00 +0.47 -41.71
TOCOM Gold 2295.00 -3.00 -0.13 -25.00
24346
TOCOM Platinum 2660.00 93.00 +3.62 -50.18
14397
TOCOM Silver 298.80 6.30 +2.15 -44.77
418
TOCOM Palladium 682.00 12.00 +1.79 -49.52
481
Euro/Dollar 1.2632
Dollar/Yen 96.74
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Ben Tan)
