TOKYO, April 22 (Reuters) - Platinum group metals (PGM)
hovered near their highest levels in about two years on Thursday
on expectations economic recovery will boost demand for the
precious metals, used mostly by the auto industry.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot palladium <XPD=> was nearly flat at $561.75 an ounce
after rising 2 percent to a two-year high of $568 an ounce the
day before, as strong Chinese import data boosted demand
expectations.
* Spot platinum <XPT=> was down 0.2 percent at $1,728.00 an
ounce after rising to $1,737.50 an ounce on Wednesday, its
highest since August 2008.
* Spot gold <XAU=> was steady at $1,145.00 an ounce compared
to late New York levels of $1,145.30.
* U.S. gold futures for June delivery <GCM0> were down 0.2
percent at $1,146.40 per ounce compared to $1,148.80 an ounce on
the COMEX division of the NYMEX.
* The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the
SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, said its holdings stood at 1,141.041
tonnes as of April 21, unchanged from the previous day and
matching a record high first hit on April 9. []
MARKET NEWS
* Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc <FCX.N>, forced to
curtail production due to the global economic downturn, is
reviving idled operations and investing more aggressively in
future growth due to improved demand in the developed world, its
chief executive said on Wednesday. []
* Gold producer AngloGold Ashanti <ANGJ.J> and rival Gold
Fields <GFIJ.J> said on Wednesday the firms have talked about a
possible combination of their South African operations, but only
at an informal level. []
* The euro remained pressured on Thursday after weakening
broadly the previous day, falling for a fifth straight session
against the dollar as investors fretted about delays in putting
together a financial aid package for debt-stricken Greece. []
* U.S. stocks finished little changed on Wednesday as
disappointing outlooks from healthcare companies offset strong
earnings from Morgan Stanley <MS.N> and Apple Inc <AAPL.O>. []
DATA EVENTS
* The following data is expected on Thursday: <ECON>
- Germany April PMI. (0728 GMT)
- Euro zone April PMI. (0728 GMT)
- UK retail sales for March. (0830 GMT)
- Weekly U.S. jobless claims. (1230 GMT)
- U.S. PPI/core PPI for March. (1230 GMT)
- U.S. existing home sales for March. (1400 GMT)
RELATED NEWS
>Palladium hits two-year high on demand optimism []
>Commodities mostly up but stronger dollar weighs []
>GM repays US loan, govt loss on bailout falls []
>German bank severs Goldman ties,France eyes probe[]
>Greek debt costs soar at start of EU/IMF talks []
PRICES
Precious metals prices at 2318 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg 2 Day chg MA 30 RSI
Spot gold $1144.75 -$0.55 -0.05% -1.14% $1125.56 52
Spot silver $18.03 $0.00 +0.00% -0.83% $17.60 48
Spot plat $1728.00 -$3.00 -0.17% +0.82% $1660.98 66
TOCOM gold 3,442 -1 -0.03% +1.53% 3,375 56
TOCOM plat 5,188 19 +0.37% +3.18% 4,960 64
Currencies
Euro/dlr $1.338 $0.000 -0.02% -0.39%
Dlr/yen 93.02 -0.12 -0.13% -0.23%
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Reporting by Chikako Mogi; Editing by Michael Watson)
