LONDON: Gold slipped in Europe on Tuesday as the dollar recovered losses against the euro, with a downturn in equity markets in Europe and the United States knocking appetite for riskier assets.
Platinum and palladium held near multi-week highs, however, as cautious optimism over the demand outlook boosted interest in the autocatalyst materials.
Spot gold slipped to a low of $940.70 an ounce as the dollar’s rebound pushed prices through technical support around $945 an ounce. It was bid at $944.05 an ounce at 1354 GMT, against $952.65 an ounce late in New York on Monday. US gold futures for August delivery on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell $9.60 to $943.90 an ounce.
Palladium climbed to a seven-week high of $263 an ounce on Tuesday, tracking platinum higher, while rhodium rose another $75 to $1,675 an ounce. Platinum was at $1,210 an ounce against $1,215, while palladium was at $261 against $259. Silver was at $13.87 an ounce versus $14.01, having earlier matched the previous session’s four-week high of $14.08.
Copper: Copper flirted with 10-month highs on Tuesday, as a recent raft of improving economic and company data lifted prospects for industrial metals demand.
Copper for three-months delivery on the London Metal Exchange traded at $5,620 a tonne in official rings from a close of $5,600 on Monday.
The metal used in power and construction hit a day’s high of $5,645, a touch below Monday’s high of $5,646 which was the strongest level since early October.
The price of copper has rocketed more than 80 percent year-to-date on a vast buying exercise from China. This follows a price fall of more than 50 percent in 2008.
Stocks of copper at LME warehouses rose 1,500 tonnes to 278,925 tonnes, their highest level since mid-June.
Aluminium was at $1,836 from $1,826. Stocks of the metal used in transport and packaging fell 4,225 tonnes but hovered close to a record in the range of 4.6 million tonnes.
Zinc traded at $1,715 from $1,710 and battery material lead was quoted at $1,792/1,795 from $1,798. Nickel was quoted at $17,000/17,050 from $16,950, having hit a 10-month high of $17,200.
Tin was at $14,400 from $14,600. It traded in a backwardation of $267 a tonne, a premium for cash tin over the three-month contract. This compares to a contango of $40 in mid-June. reuters
