Gold near historic high
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Gold was near an all-time high on Friday and platinum hit another record on dollar weakness, supply concerns, firm oil and expectations of more interest rate cuts in the United States.
Spot gold hit an intraday high of $913 an ounce, within sight of last week's record high of $914 an ounce, before dipping to $909.55/910.50 an ounce, still higher than $907.00/907.70 an ounce late in New York on Thursday.
Platinum hit another record high of $1,618.50 ounce on investment demand, gains in gold and after Lonmin Plc slashed its sales outlook for the year. The metal was last quoted at $1,606/1,611 an ounce in New York.
"Platinum is confronted by a big supply and demand problem. The price will be very strong in the future. Within a month, the next price target is $1,650," said Yukuji Sonoda, precious metals analyst at Daiichi Commodities in Tokyo.
Miners in South Africa, the world's largest platinum producer, have had to deal with electricity outages as power utilities struggled to keep up with rising demand.
Lonmin Plc, the world's No.3 platinum producer, cut its sales outlook for the year after first-quarter refined platinum output slid by nearly a fifth due to safety shutdowns and persistent processing problems.
Sonoda said expectations of further U.S. interest rates cuts, which have underpinned a recovery in stocks markets after a rout at the start of the week, have encouraged investors to buy commodities.
"That's a very good environment. By the end of June, gold will reach $1,000," said Sonoda, who also expected more investors to shift to gold from government bonds.
Gold had tumbled to a three-week low of $849.50 on Tuesday as falling energy and equity prices forced investors to sell the metal to cover margin calls, but the Dow Jones Industrial Average has since recorded two consecutive days of gains on hopes for interest rate cuts and a fiscal stimulus package.
Fed policy makers are scheduled to meet on January 29-30. A hefty emergency rate cut this week boosted sentiment in precious metals.
"Gold still has a chance to break a new high. But if it's rising too fast, we may look for a correction. After breaking the high, we may look at $950," said Ronald Leung, director of Lee Cheong Gold Dealers in Hong Kong.
Gold could find solid support at around $908 an ounce on Friday and resistance was seen at $915 -- just above last week's historic highs, said Leung.
The benchmark platinum futures contract for December delivery on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange rose by its daily 120 yen limit to 5,350 yen a gram.
COMEX gold futures extended gains, with the most active February contract rising $4.6 an ounce to $910.4.
Silver gained to $16.36/16.41 an ounce from $16.35/16.40. Palladium rose to $372.00/377.00 an ounce from $370.50/375.50.
(Editing by Michael Urquhart)
