Platinum Futures Drop as Rising Tokyo Gold Contract Lures Money

By Dave McCombs

July 14 (Bloomberg) -- Platinum futures fell for the first time in three days as some investors sold the metal to buy gold, which soared to an almost 25-year high on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange.

The most-active contract for platinum traded at 3,521 yen more than benchmark gold futures at the close in Tokyo, 698 yen wider than the one-year average.

``Many traders like the spread between gold and platinum, so they're buying gold and selling platinum,'' Kazuhiko Saito, a commodity strategist at Interes Capital Management, said today in Tokyo by telephone.

Platinum for June delivery in Tokyo fell 97 yen, or 1.4 percent, to close at 6,837 yen a gram ($1,996 an ounce) on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange.

Gold for June delivery gained as much as 50 yen to 3,340 yen a gram, the highest since September 1983. The most-active closed at 3,316 yen a gram.

Metal for immediate delivery dropped $5.50 to $2,027.50 an ounce at 5:55 p.m. in Tokyo, 0.3 percent lower than July 11 in New York.

To contact the reporter for this story: Dave McCombs in Tokyo at dmccombs@bloomberg.net