Platinum gained for a second time in the past three days in New York on speculation that demand for the metal used in car parts and jewelry may rebound as U.S. durable-goods orders jumped last month. Palladium rose. Orders for long-lasting items such as aircraft and refrigerators rose 3.4 percent in February from January, the biggest jump in more than a year, the Commerce Department said today in Washington. Most platinum and palladium is used in pollution-control devices for vehicles. “Surprisingly, the durable-goods orders rose and it is perceived to be positive for platinum,” Bayram Dincer, a commodity analyst at Dresdner Bank in Zurich, said in an e- mailed comment. Platinum futures for July delivery rose $9.30, or 0.8 percent, to $1,132 an ounce at 10:05 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The most-active contract gained 6.7 percent in the past five sessions before today. Palladium futures for June delivery advanced $1.50, or 0.7 percent, to $209 an ounce in New York. The metal gained 5.5 percent last week. “Metals and oil prices have gotten slightly ahead of themselves, boosted by exogenous factors such as the weaker dollar and rising U.S. stocks,” Edward Meir, an analyst at MF Global Ltd. in Darien, Connecticut, said today in a report. “We still are not seeing more important evidence of demand picking up, which is why we think metal prices could possibly head back lower.”

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