por admin » Jue Mar 22, 2012 3:10 pm
Los metales preciosos caen sin excepcion
Palladium cayo 5.5%, plata 2.7% debido a los datos debiles de la manufactura en China y el temor de que la demanda por los metales preciosos para la produccion industrial se debilite.
Temor de mas impuestos para el oro en India, tambien ayudaron a las ventas del oro, asi como la menor demanda en ese pais.
Updated March 22, 2012, 3:08 p.m. ET
Precious Metals Fall Across Board
By TATYANA SHUMSKY
NEW YORK—Palladium tumbled 5.5%, while silver fell 2.7%, as weak manufacturing data from China sparked fears of lower demand for precious metals with industrial applications.
Palladium for June delivery, the most actively traded contract, fell $37.60, or 5.5%, to settle at $651.05 a troy ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Thursday.
Silver for May delivery, the most active Comex contract, settled down 88.2 cents, or 2.5%, at $31.345 a troy ounce.
Platinum, which is widely used in auto catalysts for diesel engines, as well as a catalyst in oil refining, fell 1.7%, to $1,612.10 an ounce.
The HSBC preliminary China purchasing managers index, a gauge of manufacturing activity in the world's second largest economy, fell for the fifth consecutive month.
Weak industrial demand for precious metals from China "in our opinion will make it difficult for platinum and palladium to rally sustainably beyond $1,700 and $700 respectively," said Standard Bank.
More than half the world's palladium output goes to making car exhaust filters, or catalytic converters, for gasoline engine vehicles, according to specialty chemicals company Johnson Matthey. Meanwhile, silver is widely used in glass making, manufacturing high-end electronics and as a catalyst in chemicals production.
Gold futures also settled lower as investors worried about slower demand from India following recent increases in gold import taxes. India is the world's largest gold consumer, purchasing over 900 metric tons of gold in 2011.
Front-month Comex gold for March delivery lost $7.70 per troy ounce, or 0.5% to $1642.30.
"Gold is already expensive enough for a lot of people so adding taxes on just makes it even less affordable," said Frank Lesh, broker and futures analyst with FuturePath Trading. "We were already seeing a loss of demand on the bullion side because of the high prices."