Platinum Futures Advance as Oil Rebound Draws Buyers to Metals

By Dave McCombs

Oct. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Platinum futures in Tokyo rose after reaching a three-year low yesterday on speculation a rebound in crude oil prices will help reduce pessimism about the global outlook for raw materials.

The metal, down 40 percent this year, gained along with gold and silver, after OPEC, supplier of 40 percent of the world's oil, signaled it may cut output, pushing up crude prices.

``Platinum and the other metals are just consolidating at these levels, given the declines had gone on for so long,'' Ralph Preston, a futures analyst at Heritage West Futures Inc. in San Diego, said today by telephone. ``We will see even higher crude oil prices, and when that happens I will be hopping onto the platinum bandwagon.''

Platinum for August delivery climbed 1.1 percent 3,178 yen a gram ($967 an ounce) at the 11 a.m. break on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange. The most-active contract yesterday sank to 3,033 yen a gram, the lowest since July 15, 2005.

Metal for immediate delivery gained $8 to $981 an ounce at 11:17 a.m. in Tokyo, a 0.8 percent gain from New York yesterday.

Crude rose for the first time in five days as some traders deemed yesterday's 6.5 percent decline excessive and because of speculation OPEC may announce output cuts at its December meeting as demand slows.

OPEC will take ``appropriate measures'' to stabilize global markets, Chakib Khelil, the group's president, said yesterday.

A surge in oil prices to a record in July helped fuel a rally in other commodities as investors sought raw materials as a haven against inflation.

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