TOCOM gold, platinum open at limit highs after US futures surge
Source: Platts
metalsplace.com
Gold and platinum contracts trading on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange opened at limit high levels Thursday, following the spike in US gold, platinum and crude oil futures the previous day.
All TOCOM gold contracts, with the exception of the front-month February 2007 contract that has no price limit, opened at limit high prices Thursday morning. TOCOM sets limit prices to prevent extreme price volatility, and the limit levels are Yen 60 above previous closings for gold. The far forward and most actively traded December 2007 contract opened at Yen 2,635 ($21.77)/g.
The December 2007 platinum contract also opened at the limit high of Yen 4,694/g, set at Yen 100 above Wednesday's close. As of 0116 GMT Thursday, other contract months with the exception of the front-month contract were also at limit highs.
TOCOM energy futures also rallied.
The spike followed the recovery of the NYMEX sweet crude oil futures to above $60/barrel in Wednesday's trade, US time. Gold and platinum futures rose in tandem with crude. The nearby April 2007 COMEX gold skyrocketed to close at $684/oz, up $23, and the nearby NYMEX platinum finished at $1,233.20/oz, up $14.10.
The US dollar firmed against the yen Thursday to Yen 120.96 as of 0116 GMT, giving some support to the TOCOM price rise.
Meanwhile, spot gold traded slightly lower than the US price levels early Thursday, Asia time. As of 0119 GMT, the bullion traded at $678.10-678.60/oz according to the World Gold Council web site. The bullion edged down from levels above $680/oz posted during US trading hours Wednesday. |
