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Singapore: Gold relinquished early gains yesterday but held near an historic high hit the previous day, while platinum powered to a record high as supply problems in South Africa triggered another round of speculative buying.
Gold dipped to $943/$943.90 an ounce from $944.40/$945.20 an ounce late in New York.
On Thursday, it rallied to $953.60, its highest level ever, before a sharp decline in crude oil erased much of the day's gains.
But dealers said the prospect of more rate cuts in the US supported gold's appeal as an alternative investment and kept the upward momentum intact. Bullion has risen as much as 14.4 per cent so far this year.
Spot platinum jumped to a record high of $2,192 an ounce before profit taking erased some of the gains to $2,155/$2,165 an ounce. It was last quoted at $2,151/$2,161 in New York.
Silver held near a 27-year high and palladium was within sight of a six-and-a-half-year high.
"The next probable stop in gold is around $955 and that is likely to be witnessed in coming days. Beyond that, $970 and $980 also seem possible," said Pradeep Unni, an analyst at Vision Commodities in Dubai.
Gold could also undergo a correction but a price dip would attract bargain hunting and buying interest from main consumer India ahead of the busy marriage season in April, when demand for gold jewellery picks up, he said.
"The momentum is showing no signs of cooling and any pullback will ideally trigger fresh buying interest. The risk is quite high at such high levels but as long as gold trades above the $930 level, a major slide is unlikely."
Platinum has jumped more than 40 per cent this year.
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