US Commodities: Platinum Tumbles On Liquidation

NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Platinum futures closed lower Wednesday when lease rates fell and liquidation occurred, while gold and silver futures gave up early gains.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, platinum has been the big mover in the precious metals lately. Traders have linked the movement to options-related activity and unsubstantiated rumors about a platinum exchange-trade fund. One day after the January futures nearly hit a life-of-contract high when they peaked at $1,289, the contract settled down $65.10 to $1,154 an ounce.

December gold initially rose to $635 a troy ounce but backed off to settle up 30 cents at $629.

December silver settled down 4.5 cents to $13.04 an ounce, down from a high of $13.25 an ounce.

XPRESSTRADE analyst Mike Zarembski also tied the pullback in gold and silver to the move in crude oil, but suggested the selling involved traders getting out of long positions - more so than a lot of shorts - ahead of a long weekend in the U.S.

December palladium settled $2.35 lower at $326 an ounce.

London afternoon gold traded at $631.80 versus $624.50 Tuesday.

U.S. spot gold at 1:30 p.m. ET traded at $628.80 an ounce, up $1.30.

Most-active December copper settled down 0.45 cents at $3.1110 per pound. Earlier in the day session the contract touched a high of $3.1640 - its best level since Nov. 10.

The front-month January light, sweet crude contract settled down 93 cents at $ 59.24 a barrel.

December heating oil settled down 6.67 cents at $1.6665 a gallon.

Unleaded gasoline settled down 4.39 cents at $1.5888 a gallon.

December natural gas settled down 27 cents at $7.718 a million British thermal units.

On the New York Board of Trade, December Arabica coffee futures closed 0.15 cents higher at $1.1555 a pound, with most-active March up 0.05 cent at $1.2015.

March cocoa settled up $15 at $1,495 per metric ton.

Futures on raw sugar in foreign ports for March settled 0.01 cent lower at 11.47 cents a pound.

On the Chicago Board of Trade, December corn settled 1 1/2 cents higher to $ 3.62 3/4 per bushel. January soybeans finished 1 cent higher at $6.74 per bushel. December wheat closed 6 1/2 cents higher at $4.86 1/4 per bushel.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires
11-22-061608ET
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