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Precious metals

easier in NY

NEW YORK: Comex gold on Friday settled barely weaker after a day of dull, rangebound trade, receiving little direction from the silver market which turned quiet today after a week of volatile, nervous trade.

December gold settled $0.10 lower at $387.80 an ounce, traded narrowly between $388.20 and $387.20, a range set by midday. The contract lost $2.10 from last week's close. Today's Volume was very light at an estimated 12,000 lots, versus Thursday's 17,480.

Dealers quoted bullion at $382.90/$383.40.

Traders said worries about a squeeze in the September silver contract had eased, as Comex warehouse stocks rose slightly in the past two days after sharp declines early in the week.

Signs of nearby supply tightness in recent weeks prompted volatile moves in silver, which in turn set the tone for the remainder of the precious metals.

Looking ahead, traders expected the gold market to remain rangebound ahead of the over-the-counter options expiry Tuesday morning.

Large open positions were noted in the $385 calls and the $382 and $380 puts, and some traders said this may be partly to blame for gold's rangebound conditions in recent sessions.

A holiday in the London and Hong Kong markets on Monday was also expected to keep conditions thin.

One bullion dealer said, however, that the tone of the market remained weak and he would not be surprised to see the cash market test support at $381/$380.

SILVER

NEW YORK: Comex silver settled slightly weaker in rangebound trade, ending a week of dramatic, volatile moves with barely a whimper.

Traders said worries about nearby supply tightness had eased somewhat, with COMEX warehouse stocks rising modestly in the past two days after sharp declines late last week and early this week.

Open interest in the September contract also declined steadily, reducing the likelihood that an attempt would be made to squeeze the contract as it approaches first notice day next Thursday.

Most-active December silver settled at $5.668 an ounce, off 1.4 cents on the day and 9.0 cents on the week. Today's range was a narrow $5.70 to $5.635. September ended off 1.5 at $5.592, traded from $5.62 to $5.56.

Volume was modest at an estimated 17,000 lots, with 1,777 switches, versus Thursday's official 36,159.

Traders noted that September silver found good support at $5.55 as it probed the downside in the past few sessions.

But some did not rule out the possibility of a sudden selloff, perhaps as far as $5.20, as concerns about supply tightness continue to fade.

Signs of tightness in recent weeks sparked a rally that took September silver from $5.12 just two weeks ago to a 3-1/2 month high of $5.825 on Monday.

PLATINUM

NEW YORK: NYMEX platinum settled barely firmer after a day of dull, rangebound trade, as the silver market, whose volatile swings in recent weeks had set the tone for the other precious metals, turned quiet amid an easing of worries about nearby supply tightness.

Traders said concern about the possibility of strikes at South Africa's mines continued to underpin the platinum market, although several analysts said it appeared unlikely that platinum supplies would be disrupted due to labor difficulties.

October platinum settled $0.30 higher at $431.60 an ounce, traded narrowly between $432.00 and $430.50, a range set early in the session. Volume was light at an estimated 1,219 lots versus Thursday's official turnover of 4,427.

September palladium settled $1.20 lower at $148.70 an ounce, while December went out $1.10 weaker at $150.45.-Reuter