POS maybe?
kitco.ca
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Thursday February 4, 12:01 pm Eastern Time
Silver tracks near $5.60 resistance, gold firms
LONDON, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Silver marked a sixth successive day of gains during European trade
on Thursday, climbing to $5.60 resistance and pausing while gold firmed slightly in range,
dealers said.
Palladium remained strong to fix at $357.00 a troy ounce in the afternoon in London, up
on the morning's $354.00 and marking a fresh high since May last year.
Silver's wavering either side of its latest resistance in a rise from $5.10 came on profit-taking
and easier lease rates, dealers said. One-month metal slackened to 3.25-3.50 percent from
Wednesday's 3.5-4.0 percent.
Talk continued over what lay behind silver's latest sharp move, with dealers pointing to busy
trade by the same market participants who acted on behalf of U.S. investor Warren Buffett
when he built his 130-million-ounce physical stake last year.
One London analyst said the latest moves might have nothing to do with Buffett himself,
citing the key difference this year as being the absence of heavy-volume silver shipments
eastwards across the Atlantic.
"A flattening in the forward curve indicates that there is some squeezing going on, which
seems to have pushed some shorts out of the market,'' said the analyst.
"None of the traders are reporting genuine physical business which seems to suggest this is
more of a market play. Having said that, I would not be surprised at all to see prices get to
$5.80 as there is enough momentum and that is the level people have talked about," he said.
Tightness in palladium continued on Thursday with the majority producer Russia again
offering clients scant hope of supply during the early part of the year.
Palladium prices crossed above traditionally pricier platinum, reflecting both the
market's greater dependence on Russian supplies and recent years' increased palladium demand
for use in car exhaust catalysts.
Spot palladium was last $7.00 up on New York's Wednesday close, trading at $356.00/$361.00,
while palladium was at $355.00/$357.00, up $3.00.
London gold fixed unchanged in the afternoon versus the morning's $287.25 a troy ounce, with
spot prices firming later to reach $288.50/$289.00, $1.20 up on Wednesday's U.S. close. |
