Platina flink vooruit, goud stijgt licht op maandag.......
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Platinum rose to its highest in more than six weeks on Monday as supply worries lingered after violence at a major mine in South Africa, the world's top platinum producing country, while gold firmed a touch.
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Forty-four people have been killed over the past week in the conflict at the Marikana mine run by Lonmin (LMI.L), the world's No.3 platinum producer. Striking workers could be dismissed if they do not return to work on Monday.
Spot platinum hit $1,477.50 an ounce, its highest since early July, before easing to $1,475.01 an ounce by 0651 GMT, after rallying more than 5 percent last week, fuelled by worries that the violence would disrupt supply from South Africa.
The gold-platinum premium dropped to below $150 an ounce, its lowest since early July, after hitting a record above $230 just last week as grim economic prospects weighed on platinum while gold was supported by hopes for more monetary stimulus from central banks around the world.
"If things in South Africa calm down, we may see the gold-platinum spread widen again, because the demand for platinum group metals is not good," said Peter Fung, head of dealing at Wing Fung Precious Metals in Hong Kong.
As the gold-platinum spread has shrunk to a multi-week low, some investors may start to reverse their recent trading strategy of buying platinum and selling gold, he added.
GOLD AWAITS POLICY CLARITY
Spot gold gained 0.2 percent to $1,619.26 an ounce. The U.S. gold futures contract for December delivery was up 0.1 percent at $1,621.70.
Gold investors are still waiting for clear signals from central banks on what they plan to do to shore up their fragile economies.
U.S. consumer sentiment improved in early August to the highest in three months, adding to the argument that the U.S. Federal Reserve may not need to launch another round of bond purchases any time soon as the economy has shown signs of stabilization.
Hedge funds and money managers cut their net long position in U.S. gold futures and options for a second consecutive week, as investors reduced their bullish bets because of doubts over more monetary stimulus by the Fed.
But holdings of the SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, rose 0.9 percent to 1,274.739 tonnes by August 17, the highest since July 9.
By Rujun Shen
