Platinum Futures Gain as Oil Surge Fuels Inflation Hedge Demand

By Dave McCombs

July 2 (Bloomberg) -- Platinum futures gained in Tokyo to more than 7,000 yen a gram after closing below that level for the past seven days, as gains in crude oil buttressed expectations for higher inflation.

The most-active contract rose 6.2 percent last month and gold advanced 4.4 percent as a 9.9 percent gain in oil spurred demand for precious metals as a haven against inflation.

``From the perspective of crude and gold, all the metals are looking better bid,'' Jonathan Barratt, managing director of Commodity Broking Services in Sydney, said today by phone. ``I'm happy to be long platinum.''

Metal for June 2009 delivery in Tokyo rose as much as 59 yen, or 0.9 percent, to 7,017 yen a gram ($2,059 an ounce) on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange. It traded at 7,000 yen at 12:48 p.m. local time. Platinum for immediate delivery gained $6.50 to $2,085.50 an ounce, at 12:46 a.m. in Tokyo, 0.3 percent higher than in New York yesterday.

Crude oil for August delivery rose as much as $1.48 to $142.45 a barrel and was at $142 at 12:48 p.m. Tokyo time in after-hours electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil touched a record $143.67 on June 30.

The Institute for Supply Management's index of prices paid yesterday jumped to the highest level since July 1979. The gauge for June jumped to 91.5, while economists surveyed by Bloomberg News forecast it would be unchanged from 87 in May.

To contact the reporter for this story: Dave McCombs in Tokyo at dmccombs@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: July 1, 2008 23:57 EDT