Silver Surges

Ivaylo
01 Sep, 2006
Metals

In the case of silver, investors attributed the surge to strong investment demand a day after the amount of metal held by an exchange-traded fund peaked above 100 million ounces. Gold followed, supported by both silver and a sharp gain in copper. Continuing tension over nuclear program of Iran was another factor boosting the precious metals.

[R]5:00AM Silver surges on investment demand, gold follows suit.[/R]
On the NYME, December silver climbed 36 cents to end at $13.03 a troy ounce, while December gold futures advanced $8.10 to close at $634.20 an ounce. October platinum climbed $13.70 to settle at $1,251.20 an ounce, while December palladium gained $3.40 to finish at $348.70 an ounce. The most-active December copper closed 10.35 cents higher at $3.4560 per pound.

Oil futures witnessed a choppy session with modest gains Thursday. The October crude contract advanced 23 cents to finish at $70.26 a barrel, after falling to $69.35 a barrel. The September gasoline contract sank 5.15 cents to close at $1.7504 a gallon. September heating oil advanced 0.46 cents to end at $1.9542 a gallon. October natural gas dipped 25 cents to settle at $6.048 per million British thermal units.

On the New York Board of Trade, Arabica coffee ended firmer, supported by industry and speculative buying. Also, funds did some month-end buying and position unwinding before the close. Futures on raw sugar in foreign ports gained with help from of month-end short covering by funds. The October contract finished 0.28 cents higher at 11.80 cents a pound, while March added 0.34 cents to close at 12.70 cents a pound.