Beiträge von GoldenCentury

29 Nov 2004 13:50

29.11.2004 13:05:15 Europe gold off peaks ahead of U.S. re-opening

LONDON, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Gold slipped from last week's 16-year highs on Monday as the dollar steadied and traders prepared for a possible drop below $450 an ounce as U.S. investors returned after the Thanksgiving holiday, dealers said.

By 1140 GMT, spot gold was at $450.50/451.25 compared with Friday's European close of $452.25/453.00.

Gold, seen as a hedge against dollar weakness, had spiked to its highest since June 1988 at $455 in Friday's early trade as the dollar reached a record low against the euro at $1.3329.

With U.S. markets set to re-open later on Monday after Thanksgiving holidays on Thursday and Friday, traders saw a temporary bias to the downside.

"We're looking to see gold retrace back to Wednesday's New York close levels, around $448.75 perhaps," one trader said.

He added the market would still be watching the dollar, which remained weak against the euro around $1.3257.

Signs China is in no rush to let its currency appreciate against the dollar gave some support to the greenback, which has shed nearly nine percent against the euro in the past two months.

"After Friday's rally in both, gold and the euro, some profit-taking is currently in the market, which obviously limits the upside," Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein's Alexander Zumpfe said.

Dealers put support at $450, with resistance seen at $460. Trade was expected largely to remain in a $5 range.

Gold might have more room to rise next year, but remained vulnerable in the short term to sharp falls because of the high exposure of speculators on the New York futures market.

"Despite the fact that we remain optimistic that the metal hasn't seen its highs yet, we can only repeat that it is currently vulnerable to profit taking by speculators," Zumpfe said in his daily report. Silver followed gold and was last quoted at $7.63/7.66 compared with $7.67/7.70 late in Europe on Friday.

Platinum was lower at $859.00/863.00 against $862.00/867.00, with palladium at $210.00/214.00 against £212.00/215.00.

© Reuters 2004

29 Nov 2004 13:35

29.11.2004 13:33:34 Silver fixes down, gold falls ahead of NY open

* Silver fixes lower at 765.00 cents a troy ounce on Monday, against Friday's fixing at $767.00. Spot silver falls to $7.65/7.67 by 1210 GMT from Europe's previous late quote of $7.67/7.70. * Silver forward rates on Reuters page indicated at 2.010, 1.992, 1.928 and 1.672 for one, three, six and 12 months respectively. * Gold retraces lower to $450.25/451.00 compared with Europe's late close of $452.25/453.00, after spiking to fresh 16-1/4 year high on Friday of $455. * Bullion eyes return of U.S. investors, market anticipates further drop below $450. * Euro hovers at around $1.3257, off record high of $1.3329. * Platinum down to $859.00/863.00 against Europe's late close of $862.00/867.00. * Platinum edges down to $210.00/216.00 versus $212.00/215.00.

29 Nov 2004 09:22

29.11.2004 08:50:22 TOCOM gold ends mixed on softer spot mkt, yen dip

TOKYO, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Tokyo gold futures finished narrowly mixed on Monday, capped by a retreat in the spot market from a 16-year high, but gaining support from a slightly weaker yen against the dollar, brokers said.

The benchmark October 2005 gold contract on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) settled down one yen per gram at 1,494, after moving within the tight range of 1,492 and 1,495.

Other months were flat to one yen higher at the close.

"The Tokyo market came under pressure as the spot market lost about $4 from Friday's peak," a Tokyo broker said. "But in light of a softer yen, there were no aggressive sellers."

Spot gold was quoted at $451.00/451.75 an ounce at 0630 GMT, compared with $451.00 at London afternoon fixing on Friday. Gold jumped to $455 an ounce in early London trading on Friday, its highest in more than 16 years, on the back of the dollar's weakness against major currencies.

New York's precious metals markets were closed on Thursday and Friday for the U.S. Thanksgiving holidays.

Gold has been buoyant as investors have shifted money to the safe-haven metal from dollar-based financial assets amid the dollar's downward trend, traders said. Spot gold would test above $460 and towards $500 in the longer term, which should encourage more investors and fund operators to increase positions in yen-based gold, they said.

TOCOM's benchmark gold contract is expected to test resistance at 1,500 yen in the near-term, and its decisive break above that level would spur active short-covering and intensify the upswing in the price, they said.

In the currency market, the dollar hovered near a record low against the euro and a 4-1/2-year low against the yen on Monday as the U.S. currency remained vulnerable to worries about major central banks trimming dollar assets.

But profit-taking on short positions gave a small lift to the dollar, which has shed nearly 9 percent against the euro and the yen in two months.

At 0630 GMT the dollar was 102.79/82 yen , up from Friday's 102.15 yen, the lowest since March 2000.

Against the euro , the dollar was at 1.3265/70. On Friday, the dollar hit a record low versus the euro of $1.3330.

In the platinum market, TOCOM's benchmark October contract ended six yen per gram lower at 2,768, after trading between 2,758 and 2,773.

Spot platinum was quoted at $860.00/865.00 an ounce at 0630 GMT, compared with Friday's London afternoon fixing at $862.00.

Sentiment for platinum has been undermined since London-based refiner Johnson Matthey projected last week that supplies of the metal would exceed demand in 2005 for the first time in several years.

The refiner said in a report that platinum was expected to trade between $760 and $880 over the next six months.

Below are closing prices for TOCOM's most active precious metals contracts, with the day's turnover for each metal.

Closing prices are in yen per gram except for silver, which is in yen per 10 grams:

For open interest details please click
Closing price Turnover (lots)
GOLD 1,494 (down 1) 43,752
SILVER 251.7 (down 2.9) 3,899
PLATINUM 2,768 (down 6) 32,318
PALLADIUM 708 (down 2) 1,156

26 Nov 2004 10:43

26.11.2004 09:27:04 Tokyo gold lifted by bullion as dlr hits record low

TOKYO, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Tokyo gold futures posted solid gains on Friday, tracing a rise in the spot bullion price as the dollar fell to another record low against the euro, which drew demand by yen-based investors for the yellow metal.

Although the yen's uptrend has somewhat slowed the advance in yen-based gold futures on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM), investors were keen to build positions in gold reflecting the strong upswing in the spot price .

"Yen-based gold ignored the strength of the yen, and focused more closely on the strong spot price," said Tatsuo Kageyama, analyst at Kanetsu Asset Management.

"The market is paying attention to the dollar's moves to determine trends for gold," Kageyama said.

The October TOCOM gold contract closed up 9 yen at the session high of 1,495 yen per gram.

Other contracts closed up 5 to 10 yen.
Spot gold hit a fresh 16-¼ year high of $455 per ounce in
early European trade as sentiment turned increasingly brighter
after the spot price broke through closely watched resistance at
$450 per ounce on Thursday.

At 0750 GMT, spot gold was quoted at $454.00/4.75 per ounce, compared with a European close of $451.50/2.25 on Thursday. COMEX and NYMEX markets were closed on Thursday and will be closed on Friday for the U.S. Thanksgiving holidays.

Traders said the spot price would test above $460 and towards $500 in the longer term, which should encourage more investors and fund operators to increase positions in yen-based gold.

The distant TOCOM gold contract was facing stiff resistance at 1,500 yen, but a decisive break above that level would spur active short-covering and intensify the upswing in the price.

Gold is expected to attract investor interest as long as the dollar stays bearish.

The dollar fell to a record low against the euro of $1.3330. Against the yen it droppped to its lowest level since March 2000 at 102.15 yen , though a prominent electronic platform had quoted it at 102.01 yen.

Platinum was unable to benefit, despite the gains in gold, as a bearish market outlook continued to put pressure on prices.

Sentiment for platinum has been undermined since London-based refiner Johnson Matthey projected last week that supplies of the metal would exceed demand in 2005 for the first time in several years.

The refiner said in a report that platinum was expected to trade between $760 and $880 over the next six months.

"The trend for platinum has been weak since the Johnson Matthey report and as the spot price is already near the higher end of the projection, the market was careful about buying platinum from present levels," Kageyama said.

The October platinum contract fell 2 yen per gram to 2,774 yen. It had moved in a range of 2,756 to 2,781 yen.

Other contracts closed up 1 to 10 yen, except for prompt December which closed down 4 yen.

Below are closing prices for TOCOM's most active precious metals contracts, with the day's turnover for each metal.

Closing prices are in yen per gram except for silver, which is in yen per 10 grams:

For open interest details please click

Closing price Turnover (lots)
GOLD 1,495 (up 9) 56,836
SILVER 254.6 (up 5.2) 5,285
PLATINUM 2,774 (down 2) 34,897
PALLADIUM 710 (down 4) 509

25 Nov 2004 13:36

25.11.2004 13:29:59 Silver fixes higher, gold seen targeting $455

* Silver fixes higher at 769.00 cents an ounce compared with previous fix of 756.00 cents. Spot silver rides up on back of gold to $7.66/7.69 an ounce by 1211 GMT from $7.58/7.61 quoted late in New York on Wednesday. * Silver forward rates on Reuters page indicated at 1.952, 1.950, 1.910 and 1.646 for one, three, six and 12 months respectively. * Gold soars to $452.25/452.75 by 1200 GMT, after hitting new 16-1/4 year high of $452.75 on Thursday, last seen in June 1988 and up from New York's late close of $448.75/449.50. * Bullion seen targeting resistance at $455 as euro sits firm at 1.3223 by 1215 GMT, near all time highs against the dollar of around 1.3237 set on Thursday. * Platinum up at $857.00/861.00 an ounce versus New York's close of $857.50/862.50. * Palladium edges down to $213.00/217.00 from $214.00/218.00 an ounce.

25 Nov 2004 09:11

25.11.2004 08:47:23 Tokyo gold down on strong yen; platinum off high

TOKYO, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Tokyo gold futures fell slightly on Thursday as a stronger yen induced sporadic profit-taking, but underlying sentiment stayed bullish on the back of steady dollar-based bullion prices.

Yen-based gold on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) couldn't draw strong bids, however, as spot bullion

failed to break through a 16-¼ year high of $450 an
ounce, traders said.

Many investors outside Japan were also hesitant to build up positions ahead of the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, they said.

"Although the yen's strength has pressured yen-based gold, sentiment is strong as investors are constantly showing interest in putting their money into gold," said Akira Doi, director at Dai-ichi Commodities Co. Ltd.

The October gold contract closed down 6 yen per gram at 1,486 yen. It had moved in a range of 1,486 to 1,490 yen.

Other contracts closed down two to six yen.

As of 0630 GMT, spot gold stood at $449.40/90 an ounce, compared with $448.75/9.50 last quoted in New York on Wednesday. The spot price rose as high as $449.75 in Asia.

Traders said gold should stay bullish as long as the dollar remained under pressure.

"Investors are choosing gold as all of the currencies -- the dollar, the euro and the yen -- look unattractive," said a manager at a Japanese trading house.

"The dollar is weak due to the growing U.S. twin deficits and you really can't buy the euro or the yen heavily because the growth rates in Europe and Japan are not high enough to convince investors."

The manager at the trading house said the market would test gold above $450 after Thanksgiving.

He said the price is expected to be solid around $440 as plenty of bargain-hunters were eagerly waiting to buy the yellow metal on dips.

At 0630 GMT, the dollar was at $1.3181/86 against the euro , compared with $1.3186 in late New York trade.

The U.S. currency hit a record low of $1.3190 against the euro in early Asian trade.

The dollar was at 102.79/84 yen after grinding down to a four-and-a-half year low of 102.56 yen on Wednesday.

TOCOM platinum was off highs, but supported by Japanese investors' purchases.

They were detected shifting some money out of gold into the white metal aiming to get a higher return as gold failed to break through highs, traders said.

Bargain-hunting emerged after finding solid support around a near four-month low of 2,728 yen hit on Friday.

Underlying sentiment for platinum was bearish after London-based refiner Johnson Matthey projected last week that supplies of the metal would exceed demand in 2005 for the first time in several years, traders said.

The October platinum contract closed up six yen per gram at 2,776 yen. It had moved in a range of 2,752 to 2,789.

Other contracts closed 17 yen down to five yen up.

Below are closing prices for TOCOM's most active precious metals contracts, with the day's turnover for each metal.

Closing prices are in yen per gram except for silver, which is in yen per 10 grams:

For open interest details please click

Closing price Turnover (lots)
GOLD 1,486 (down 6) 35,102
SILVER 249.4 (down 1.1) 3,084
PLATINUM 2,776 (up 6) 45,476
PALLADIUM 714 (down 4) 478

25 Nov 2004 08:33

25.11.2004 08:16:42 Gold sets fresh 16-1/4 year high of $450/oz

LONDON, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Spot gold hit a new 16-1/4 year high of $450.00 a troy ounce in early European trading on Thursday.

At 0722 GMT gold had fallen back to $449.50/450.25 in illiquid trading conditions due to the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday.

The market had been flirting with $450 resistance during Asian trade but persistent selling had kept a lid in prices, traders said.

24 Nov 2004 21:08

24.11.2004 20:37:12 NY gold ends up near $450/oz; busy rollover trade

NEW YORK, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Gold futures gained but ended below $450-an-ounce resistance on Wednesday, as dollar weakness supported prices near 16-1/4-year highs while dealers busily switched futures contracts before the Thanksgiving holiday.

Benchmark December delivery gold on the New York Mercantile Exchange's COMEX division finished at $449.30 an ounce, up $1.40, after trading from $447 to $449.50.

February 2005 gold settled up $1.30 at $451.50.

Volume was extremely heavy as traders transferred positions from December gold into February futures and, to a lesser extent, June gold, before next week's first notice day for metal delivery.

Estimated turnover was a staggering 290,000 contracts, with 80,215 switches.

COMEX and NYMEX markets will be shut on Thursday and Friday in observance of Thanksgiving Day.

Persistent trade selling at the highs prevented the market from breaking above stiff resistance at $450 in the nearby December contract, dealers said, even as gold got a boost from the dollar's fall to a fresh all-time low versus the euro.

"I'm leery that they haven't gotten it above $450, which leads me to believe there are probably some stops (stop-loss sell orders) filling in underneath," one floor trader said.

"If the trade really wants to whack it, maybe they can and touch off some stops on the downside."

However, many market watchers still expected gold will soon be able to explode above that psychological $450 level and possibly test next resistance at $460 to $465 an ounce.

"Gold still appears set to test higher with the main thrust of support coming from the dollar's weakness as well as concerns about growth and geopolitical tensions," TheBullionDesk.com said in a report.

December futures on Tuesday touched $449.90 which marked the highest price for COMEX benchmark gold since July 1988.

Technical support in gold was seen at $440, brokers said.

The greenback on Wednesday had a negligible reaction to a batch of mixed U.S. economic data after it hit a fresh record low against the euro at $1.3167.

Dollar weakness boosts dollar-denominated gold as it arms overseas investors with greater bullion purchasing power.

Spot gold last priced at $448.75/449.50, which was above Tuesday's late level in New York at $447.55/8.30 and the Wednesday afternoon fix in London at $448.60.

December silver settled at $7.613 an ounce, up 5.8 cents, trading $7.54 to $7.63. Next active March 2005 futures finished at $7.667.

Spot silver fetched $7.58/61, compared with $7.53/56 previously. London's fix was $7.56.

NYMEX January platinum gained $5.50 to end at $862.40 an ounce. Spot platinum reached $857.50/862.50.

December palladium retreated $3.20 to close at $214 an ounce. Next active March ended at $216.40. Spot palladium stood at $214.00/218.00.

24 Nov 2004 18:40

24.11.2004 18:34:59 Gold scheitert erneut an 450-Dollar-Hürde

London, 24. Nov (Reuters) - Der Goldkurs ist am Mittwoch in Europa erneut am Widerstand bei 450 Dollar gescheitert, obwohl ein weiter sinkender Dollar Unterstützung lieferte. Händler gehen jedoch von einem baldigen Überwinden der Marke aus. Schon am Vortag war Gold bis auf 449,50 Dollar gestiegen und hatten danach wieder gedreht.

Fonds hätten vor dem verlängerten Wochenende in den USA, wo am Donnerstag Thanksgiving gefeiert wird, Positionen glatt gestellt und Gewinne mitgenommen, so Händler. Der Markt werde sich Anfang kommender Woche wohl volatil zeigen, aber der Aufwärtstrend dürfte intakt bleiben. An der Futur-Börse COMEX in New York hielten sich hohe spekulative Positionen, die das Risiko eines starken Falls vor dem Jahresende erhöhten.

Der nächste Widerstand liegt Frederic Panzzutti von MKS Finance zufolge bei 452 Dollar; dort könnte es zu Gewinnmitnahmen kommen.

Zum europäischen Handelsschluss notierte die Feinunze Gold bei 448,75/449,50 Dollar nach 448,15/448,90 Dollar am Vorabend. In London erfolgte das Fixing am Nachmittag bei 448,60 Dollar nach 448,65 Dollar am Vormittag und 448,15 Dollar am Dienstagnachmittag.

Eine Schweizer Grossbank gab den Gold-Kilopreis mit 16.448/16.702 (Vorabend 16.578/16.828) sfr an.

ish/par

24 Nov 2004 16:38

24.11.2004 16:28:28 NY gold gains but stays below $450 as rollover in focus

NEW YORK, Nov 24 (Reuters) - U.S. gold futures gained ground Wednesday on a soft dollar but held below $450 an ounce and its 16-1/4-year peak as dealers were busy with contract rollover before the four-day U.S. holiday weekend.

By 10:11 a.m. EST (1511 GMT), December delivery gold on the New York Mercantile Exchange's COMEX division was up $1.10 at $449 an ounce, trading from $447 to $449.50

COMEX and NYMEX markets will be closed Thursday and Friday in observance of Thanksgiving Day.

Futures on Tuesday climbed to $449.90 which marked the highest price for COMEX benchmark gold since July 1988, as the dollar fell against the euro.

Volume was heavy as players switched positions in December gold into February futures and, to a lesser extent, June gold, before next week's first notice day for December delivery. But the market lacked the punch needed to break above stiff nearby selling resistance.

"Gold is holding back. It's been struggling to break that $450 gap, and it looks like the trade has been keeping pressure on this," a floor broker said.

"We're waiting for this thing to explode, maybe after the rollover, to above $450 and then maybe we'll try $460 to $465," he added.

The dollar on Wednesday had a negligible reaction to U.S. economic data after hitting a record low against the euro at $1.3167.

Dollar weakness boosts dollar-denominated gold as it arms overseas investors with greater bullion purchasing power.

Data showing U.S. durable goods orders slipped by 0.4 percent in October against an expected 0.5 percent rise had little effect on markets.

"Gold still appears set to test higher with the main thrust of support coming from the dollar's weakness as well as concerns about growth and geopolitical tensions," TheBullionDesk.com said in a report.

Spot gold was quoted at $448.35/449.10 versus Tuesday's late level in New York at $447.55/8.30. The Wednesday afternoon fix in London was at $448.60.

December silver gained 3.5 cents to $7.59 an ounce, trading $7.54 to $7.63. It hit a seven-month high of $7.75 last week. Spot silver rose to $7.56/59 from $7.53/56 previously. London's fix was $7.56.

January platinum was up $3.60 to $860.50 an ounce. Spot platinum traded at $858.00/862.00.

December palladium slipped 70 cents to $216.50 an ounce. Spot palladium fetched $214.00/218.00.

24 Nov 2004 13:39

24.11.2004 13:36:44 Silver fixes slightly lower, gold shy of $450

* Silver fixes slightly lower at 756.00 cents per ounce compared with previous fix at 756.50 cents. Spot silver ticks up to $7.54/7.57 an ounce by 1211 GMT from $7.53/7.56 quoted late in New York on Tuesday. * Silver forward rates on Reuters page indicated at 1.962, 1.930, 1.910 and 1.628 for one, three, six and 12 months respectively. * Gold hovers at $448.50/449.25 an ounce, below 16-1/4 year high of $449.50, up from the New York close of $447.55/448.30. * Bullion seen targeting resistance at $450 as euro/dollar at 1220 GMT around 1.3148, near record 1.3167. * Platinum up at $857.00/861.00 an ounce versus New York's close of $851.00/855.00. * Palladium flat at 213.00/217.00 from $213.00/219.00 an ounce.

24 Nov 2004 13:26

24.11.2004 12:43:28 Europe gold seen aiming for $450, eyes euro/dollar

LONDON, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Gold rose on Wednesday as traders established positions ahead of the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday and prepared for another charge at key resistance of $450 -- a fresh 16-1/4 year peak.

By 1130 GMT, spot gold was quoted at $449.00/449.75 per troy ounce, up from New York's late quote on Tuesday of $447.55/448.30.

Bullion scored a fresh 16-1/4 year high on Tuesday of $449.50, the highest since July 1988.

Traders said that although gold would be dominated by book-squaring of the Thanksgiving holiday, focus would remain on the euro , which was holding steady near record highs against the dollar around $1.3155.

"It's an early close today on the COMEX so funds may decide to square their positions slightly ahead of the holiday," one trader said.

Analysts said COMEX option expiry passed off without incident on Tuesday with gold at about $448 per troy ounce at expiry. They were not expecting Wednesday's London OTC expiry to have a big impact on the market.

"The expiry will be large but strikes are less concentrated at specific levels than in the COMEX options market," John Reade, analyst at UBS Investment Bank said in a daily report.

Analysts said investors would probably be reluctant to push gold much beyond Tuesday's high, although they expected a break higher in the euro/dollar rate in the next few hours would determine bullion's next move.

"The next key level would be $452.00 per ounce where some profit taking could result in an upside momentum loss," Frederic Panizzutti, from MKS Finance said.

But a downturn would be shortlived, he added.

"The next wave of buying in this buoyant market could follow shortly after this profit taking and the next target on the upside could be as high as $500 over the coming months," he said.

Speculative exposure remained at high levels in bullion on New York's COMEX market, with a growing risk of sharp drops ahead of the year's end.

Traders were also waiting for data including four-week jobless numbers and durable goods data for October, both due at 1330 GMT, October home sales at 1400 GMT and the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment reading for November at 1445 GMT.

Dealers pegged support at $440.00, ahead of $436.00.

Speculators were driving silver on Wednesday, with the metal seen targeting a broad range of $7.43-7.63.

Spot silver was last quoted at $7.54/7.57, little changed from $7.53/7.56 late in New York.

Spot platinum was quoted at $857.00/861.00, up from $851.00/855.00, while palladium was steady at $213.00/217.00.

24 Nov 2004 08:47

24.11.2004 08:11:43 Tokyo gold rises as weak dollar supports bullion

TOKYO, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Tokyo gold futures rose on Wednesday as firmness in the spot bullion market drew steady buying of yen-based gold from fund operators, traders said.

The benchmark October gold contract on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) closed up five yen per gram at 1,492 yen from Monday's settlement. It had moved in a range of 1,489 to 1,493 yen.

Other contracts closed up four to nine yen.

Gold also received support as the dollar slumped against major currencies.

"Gold gained safe-haven buying as the dollar stayed bearish," said Koji Suzuki, manager at Star Futures Securities. "Gold would be supported and provide support to other precious metals as long as the dollar is weak."

Tokyo markets were closed for a public holiday on Tuesday.

Spot gold was supported, although traders were reluctant to buy actively from present levels having seen stiff resistance just below $450 per ounce.

As of 0630 GMT, spot gold stood at $447.40/90 per ounce compared with $447.55/8.30 in late New York on Tuesday.

Bullion peaked at a fresh 16-1/4-year high of $449.50 on Tuesday.

The dollar was quoted at $1.3095/98 against the euro at 0630 GMT, not too far from the record low of $1.3108 set on Tuesday.

The U.S. currency stood at 103.56/60 yen , little changed from late U.S. level on Tuesday but off the four-year low of 102.70 hit on Friday.

Traders said gold has been supported by purchasing by suppliers, who were actively buying back physical supplies to unwind their hedge positions in the futures market.

In addition, gold has benefitted from the launch of a gold-backed exchange-traded-fund (ETF) in the United States last week, traders said.

A recently launched gold-backed ETF attracted $419 million in its first three days of trading, bringing its total assets to $1.3 billion, a research company said on Tuesday.

The ETF, called streetTRACKS Gold Shares , attracted $589 million last Thursday, the first day it was offered to the public, and an additional $241 million on Friday, said Santa Rosa, California-based TrimTabs Investment Research.

Platinum posted solid gains on active bargain-hunting from end-users.

The market appeared to have overcome a depressing Johnson Matthey forecast last week, which projected that supplies of the metal would exceed demand in 2005 for the first time in several years, traders said.

"The market was relieved after seeing plenty of bargain-hunting by end-users," Suzuki said.

"Although sentiment for platinum is not overly strong, it should follow the bullishness of gold," he said.

The key October platinum contract closed up 20 yen per gram at 2,770 yen. It had moved in a range of 2,757 to 2,789.

Other contracts closed 16 to 32 yen higher.

Traders said bargain-hunting emerged when the key contract fell to a near four-month low of 2,728 yen on Monday.

Below are closing prices for TOCOM's most active precious metals contracts, with the day's turnover for each metal.

Closing prices are in yen per gram except for silver, which is in yen per 10 grams:

For open interest details please click

Closing price Turnover (lots)
GOLD 1,492 (up 5) 42,456
SILVER 250.5 (down 0.8) 2,671
PLATINUM 2,770 (up 20) 49,086
PALLADIUM 718 (up 3) 884

23 Nov 2004 20:56

23.11.2004 20:34:21 NY gold ends off, misses $450, as options expire

NEW YORK, Nov 23 (Reuters) - U.S. gold futures closed off from a fresh 16-1/4-year high on Tuesday, as traders pocketed profits from the market's rally to almost $450 an ounce after the dollar slumped to a new record low against the euro.

Most activity was positioning before this week's Thanksgiving holiday and before COMEX December options expired at day's end, dealers said, though demand based on the strong first week of trade in the gold-backed streetTRACKS security on the New York Stock Exchange continued to support gold.

December delivery gold on the New York Mercantile Exchange's COMEX division fell $1.10 to $447.90, in a range between the overnight low of $446.10 and $449.90, which marked the highest price for benchmark futures since July 1988.

Gold in dollar terms has been surging in recent weeks as the euro rallied to record highs. The six-year old euro peaked at $1.3105 Tuesday, while the yen this week reached its strongest level since March 2000 against the greenback, arming overseas investors with greater bullion purchasing power.

"I remain bullish on this market, but it must be noted that the gold price is only following the demise of the dollar," said Leonard Kaplan, president of Prospector Asset Management, in a report. "Any rally in the currency will force gold lower."

The euro was worth $1.3083 at midafternoon Tuesday.

Investor purchases of streetTRACKS, certificates of ownership in physical gold held in trust, require banks that administer the fund to buy bullion in the open market.

"It's hard to be short given that from a technical perspective it looks very firm and also because this (gold security) continues to put a half a million ounces of demand in the market," said a trader. "It will burst at some point, but from $450 or $480? That's the big question."

Speculators have accumulated a huge bullish position in COMEX gold. Much of the volume was switches as funds rolled long positions from December gold into February futures, and to a lesser extent June gold, before first notice day next week.

"There's option expiration today," said a floor broker, adding that there were "more switches than anything else here."

Estimated turnover was a massive 150,000 contracts, with 30,288 switches.

COMEX and NYMEX markets will be closed Thursday and Friday for Thanksgiving.

Bullion peaked at $449.50. Spot gold last touched $447.55/8.30, down from Monday's late level at $448.25/9.00. The afternoon fix in London was at $448.15.

December silver closed down 1.7 cents at $7.555 an ounce, trading $7.615 to $7.505. It hit a seven-month high at $7.75 last week.

Spot silver was unchanged at $7.53/56. London's fix was $7.565.

January platinum rose $1.70 to end at $856.90 an ounce. Spot platinum last priced at $851.00/855.00.

December palladium lost $1.30 to $217.20 an ounce. Spot palladium traded to $213.00/219.00.

23 Nov 2004 18:07

23.11.2004 17:35:39 Gold mit Tageshoch bei 449,50 Dollar

London, 23. Nov (Reuters) - Gold hat am Dienstag in Europa mit einem Höchststand von 449,50 Dollar nur knapp die psychologisch wichtige Markte von 450 Dollar verfehlt. Am Nachmittag gab der Kurs dann wieder etwas nach. Ein Test der 450 Dollar-Hürde noch vor dem langen Thanksgiving-Wochenende in den USA hänge von den Fonds ab, so Händler. Diese müssten nun entscheiden, ob sie noch vor Donnerstag ihre überhohen Long-Positionen zumindest teilweise abbauten, um Gewinne mitzunehmen.

Die Kursspanne liege zwischen 445 und 450 Dollar, so ein Händler. Am Nachmittag seien einige Call-Optionen verkauft worden. Am Mittwoch verfallen Over-The-Counter gehandelte Optionen.

Eine starke Unterstützung liegt Händlern zufolge bei 445 Dollar sowie deutlicher bei 440 Dollar.

Nach wie vor orientiert sich Gold Händler zufolge an der Entwicklung auf dem Devisenmarkt und reagiert spiegelbildlich. Bei einem fallenden Dollarkurs werde das in der US-Devise gehandelte Gold für Anleger aus anderen Währungsräumen billiger beziehungsweise biete einen Schutz vor dem Dollar-Verfall.

Zum Handelsschluss in Europa notierte die Feinunze Gold bei 448,15/448,90 Dollar nach 447,40/448,10 Dollar am Montagabend. Gefixt wurde Gold in London am Nachmittag bei 448,15 Dollar nach 447,00 Dollar am Vormittag und 447,80 Dollar am Montagnachmittag.

Eine Schweizer Grossbank gab den Gold-Kilopreis mit 16.578/16.828 (Vorabend 16.626/16.876) sfr an.

23 Nov 2004 16:20

23.11.2004 16:18:26 Early NY gold sags, misses $450 as options expire

NEW YORK, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Gold extended its rally to almost $450 an ounce Tuesday morning as the dollar hit a record low against the euro, but futures retreated as dealers jockeyed for advantage before COMEX December options expire at day's end.

Dealers said demand related to the strong first week of trading in the gold-backed streetTRACKS security on the New York Stock Exchange supported futures.

December delivery gold topped at $449.90 an ounce, the highest price for benchmark futures since July 1988. At 9:29 a.m. EDT (1429 GMT) it was off $1 at $448, holding well above the overnight low of $446.10.

"We reached the $450 target. Today is COMEX options expiry and the $450 strike does have a lot of interest still," said a bullion trader. "We are still pretty close to that, so it's probably going to be a magnet."

Speculators have accumulated a huge bullish position. Much of the early volume on the floor was switches, as funds rolled long positions from December to February, and to a lesser extent June gold, before first notice day next week.

"There's option expiration today," said a floor broker, adding that there were "more switches than anything else here.

"The trade and locals tried to really push this market down here early this morning," he said.

Gold in dollar terms has been surging in recent weeks as the euro rallied to record highs. The six-year old euro peaked at $1.3093 Tuesday, while the yen this week reached its strongest level since March 2000 against the greenback, arming overseas investors with greater bullion purchasing power.

Investor purchases of streetTRACKS, which is a certificate of ownership in physical gold held in trust, requires banks that administer the fund to buy bullion in the open market.

"It's hard to be short given that from a technical perspective it looks very firm and also because this (gold security) continues to put a half a million ounces of demand in the market," said the trader. "It will burst at some point but from $450 or $480? That's the big question."

Bullion peaked at $449.50. Spot gold was at $447.75/8.50, down from Monday's late level at $448.25/9.00. The morning fix in London was $447.

December silver was down 1.2 cents at $7.56 an ounce, trading $7.615 to $7.505. It hit a seven-month high at $7.75 last week.

Spot silver was unchanged at $7.53/56. London's fix was $7.565.

January platinum was up $2.80 at $858.00 an ounce. Spot platinum last priced at $851.00/855.00.

December palladium was $1.50 lower at $217.00 an ounce. Spot palladium hit $213.00/217.00.

DJ Gold Fields Appeals S African Competition Tribunal Ruling

LONDON, Nov 23, 2004 (ODJ Select via COMTEX) -- (Dow Jones)--Gold Fields Ltd.
(GFI), bitterly contesting a hostile takeover bid from Harmony Gold Mining Co.
(HMY), has appealed against a South African Competition Tribunal ruling that
upheld Harmony's two-part buyout offer.

Its appeal will be heard by three judges at the Competition Appeal Court in
Pretoria, Wednesday at 0800 GMT, Tribunal spokesman Jane Sussens said Tuesday.

Gold Fields contends that Harmony's "early bird" settlement offer - which seeks
to persuade an initial 34.9% of Gold Fields' shareholders to tender their stock
- amounts to a merger without prior authorization.

Last Thursday, the Tribunal ruled against Gold Fields, saying the world's
fourth-biggest gold mining company by output had failed to make the case that
Harmony's structured bid was a backdoor attempt to gain control of the company.

Gold Fields' shareholders must decide by a Friday midday deadline whether to
swap their stock for Harmony paper. Monday, two large U.S. institutional
shareholders, owners of about 2% of Gold Fields' equity combined, said they
would not tender their holdings.

The all-share offer, launched Oct. 18 at a value of $8.24 billion, is currently
valued about $7 billion.

Silber-Leasing-Rates sind wieder spürbar zurückgegangen..........

23 Nov 2004 13:35

23.11.2004 13:33:17 Silver fixes lower, gold at new highs

* Silver fixes lower at 756.50 cents per ounce compared with previous fix at 761.50 cents. Spot silver ticks up to $7.55/7.58 an ounce by 1207 GMT from $7.53/7.56 quoted late in New York on Monday. * Silver forward rates on Reuters page indicated at 2.00, 1.960, 1.925 and 1.662 for one, three, six and 12 months respectively. * Gold hovers at fresh 16-1/4 year high at $449.50/449.75 an ounce, up from the New York close of $448.25/449.00. Gains strength as the U.S. dollar notches up fresh record lows versus the euro. * Platinum slightly up at $851.00/855.00 an ounce versus New York's close of $850.50/855.50. * Palladium unchanged at $214.00/219.00 an ounce.

Zitat

The U.S. currency's brief recovery against the euro in early European trade had seen bullion drop to an intraday low of $455.50

Das muss natürlich 445,50 heissen...........ist aber eh wurscht, wir stürmen jetzt auf die 450, 1 Dolar fehlt noch.........

23 Nov 2004 13:26

23.11.2004 13:16:11 Europe gold eases from new 16 yr peak, eyes $450

LONDON, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Gold eased in Europe on Tuesday morning after hitting a fresh 16-1/4 year high in Asian trade at $449.00 per ounce, but dealers were still looking for further gains towards $450 and beyond.

Spot gold was quoted at $447.75/448.50 by 1150 GMT, down from New York's late quote of $448.25/449.00.

Dealers said that activity could be volatile later in the day, with prices seen moving in step with the euro/dollar rate.

"It will be choppy, especially this afternoon when the COMEX (New York futures) opens, dealers seem to want it lower," one trader said.

Dealers also said the market would be focusing on end-month option expiry this week.

The U.S. currency's brief recovery against the euro in early European trade had seen bullion drop to an intraday low of $455.50.

But the dollar later resumed its decline -- falling to $1.3061 against the euro -- making dollar-priced bullion cheaper for non-U.S. investors.

Dealers said they expected bullion to follow the greenback's volatile trade throughout the day as investors adjusted positions ahead of the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday and Friday.

Analysts said gold could challenge resistance around $450, but the metal was looking increasingly vulnerable to retracement on high speculative exposure.

"A majority is still expecting this level to be tested in the short term and hence the selling interest is somewhat limited," Alexander Zumpfe of Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein said in a daily report.

"While we favour the upside as well, short term profit taking is always possible though it should remain short-lived and limited," he added.

Traders were also waiting for U.S. economic data on Wednesday, including University of Michigan's consumer sentiment reading for November, that could provide short term direction for the dollar.

Dealers pegged support at $445 and more significantly at $440.

Spot silver was flat but seen under pressure with the possibility of fund liquidation weighing on sentiment, quoted at $7.53/7.56.

Spot platinum stood at $851.00/856.00, up slightly from $850.50/855.50, while palladium was steady at $214.00/219.00.