U.S. gold futures ended higher on Wednesday on firmer physical demand amid new buying, while market talk of cold fusion technology boosted palladium and other platinum group metals. For the latest detailed report, click on [GOL/]. GOLD * Gold for June delivery GCM9 settled up $9.80, or 1.1 percent, at $892.50 an ounce on the COMEX division of New York Mercantile Exchange. * Ranged from $882.80 to $894.80. * Physical demand is slowly and steadily emerging around the current levels, and this along with firm trend in investment fund flow is supporting the market - Pradeep Unni, trader at Richcomm Global Services. * India's metals trading firm MMTC Ltd said it was likely to import 9 to 10 tonnes of gold this month, helping lift the country's April imports to 30 tonnes. * Bullion prices may rise this week because of Akshaya Tritya, India's gold-buying festival, on April 27 - analysts. * Some new buyers seen amid higher open interest in gold futures market - George Gero, vice president of RBC Capital Markets Global Futures. * Gold supported as U.S. stocks initially fell as a slew of mixed results from major companies and a quarterly loss from Morgan Stanley stirred fears over the financial sector. Wall Street, however, turned higher later in a mixed session. [.N] * Gold could be under pressure as recovery in equities market could continue, and recent outflows of gold exchange-traded funds could also weigh on prices - Tom Pawlicki, precious metals and energy analyst at MF Global. * The world economy has fallen into a severe recession, and the International Monetary Fund cut its forecast for global growth, spurring flight-to-quality demand in gold. * The U.S. economy, however, is starting to show signs of shrinking more slowly, but positive growth is not expected until sometime next year - IMF. * Investment inflows into gold-backed, exchange-traded funds jumped to an all-time high in the first quarter, boosted by a combination of risk aversion and economic uncertainties - World Gold Council. [ID:nN21541171] * Gold/oil ratio at 18.3 on Wednesday, compared with 19.9 in the previous session. * COMEX estimated 1 p.m. (1700 GMT) electronic futures volume at 50,041 lots. Floor volume was not available due to a technical glitch. * COMEX gold open interest down 2,331 at 336,376 lots as of April 20. * Spot gold traded at $891.10 an ounce at 2:04 p.m. EDT (1804 GMT), up 1.0 percent from its late Tuesday quote in New York. * The London afternoon gold fix was $886.00 an ounce. PLATINUM * NYMEX July platinum PLN9 ended up $21.10, or 1.8 percent, at $1,178.70 an ounce on broad-based strength of the platinum group metals, including rhodium and palladium. * Spot platinum at $1,169.50 an ounce, up 1.5 percent from its late Tuesday quote. PALLADIUM * June palladium PAM9 finished sharply higher, up $11.15, or 5.0 percent, at $233.30 an ounce. * Palladium boosted by demand related to renewed talk of cold fusion technology after CBS TV covered the topic on its news program "60 Minutes" on Sunday - NYMEX traders. * Spot palladium was at $231.00 an ounce, up 4.1 percent from its previous finish. SILVER * COMEX May silver SIK9 closed up 24.5 cents, or 2 percent, at $12.305 an ounce, rebounding from the previous session's losses. * Ranged between $11.990 and $12.330. * COMEX estimated 1:00 p.m. electronic futures volume at 12,256 lots. * Spot silver was at $12.32 an ounce, up 2.8 percent from its previous finish. * The London silver fix at $12.120 an ounce

Source