NY precious metals mixed early, PGMS higher Wednesday June 4 12:25 PM EDT
NEW YORK, June 4 (Reuter) - COMEX and NYMEX precious metals futures remained mixed midday Wednesday, with platinum group metal (PGM) prices mostly higher but gold and silver lower.
``PGM spreads are very wide, and some traders are not answering their phones with the talks between the Russians and Japanese over new export contracts still unresolved,'' one PGM dealer said.
``But Japanese buying has pushed the rhodium price even higher this morning, suggesting the talks on Russian exports resuming may not be going as well as expected,'' he said.
Rhodium was quoted $300/330 an ounce Wednesday up from around $275 Tueday.
``In the meantime, the backwardations suggest prices are going to be much lower in the future, so fabricators and others who need the metal are prepared to pay very high rates to borrow the metal short term.''
NYMEX June palladium, which expires on June 25, was up $14.35 an ounce at $196.00, while September palladium was up $2.35 at $172.00, but December palladium was down $5.65 at $160.00 midday.
NYMEX palladium stocks were unchanged at 55,300 ounces Tuesday, while total open interest in NYMEX palladium futures declined by 195 contracts to 8,294 contracts or 829,400 ounces.
One month platinum lending rates rose to around 50 percent Wednesday, up from 40 percent Tuesday, while one month palladium lending rates soared to over 100 percent from around 75 percent Tuesday.
In overnight news, Russian officials told Japanese traders Russian exports would resume on June 20, after a five months suspension, but they also said the export licences had still not yet been granted by the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations.
Earlier platinum fixed at $425.00 an ounce in London Wednesday, its highest since February 7, 1996, while palladium fixed at $210 an ounce, its highest level since fixings began in 1989 and the highest spot market price since 1980.
``The real question is, even if the Russians do start shipping on June 20, how long will it take to ease the shortage in the spot market after five months suspension of supplies by the world's biggest supplier,'' one trader said.
Meanwhile, COMEX August gold was down $1.30 an ounce at $344.40 an ounce, as European financial markets calmed down following the resolution of the dispute between the German government and the Bundesbank over a gold revaluation plan Tuesday.
In the bullion market, spot gold was quoted $341.40/90 an ounce, compared to the London Wednesday afternoon fix at $341.75 and the New York close Tuesday around $343.50/00.
COMEX July silver was down 0.80 cent at $4.720 an ounce, while the July/December spread narrowed further after trade selling of the spread in the past few days.
In the physical market, silver imlied lease rates remained higher than normal around 3.80 percent for one month, after talk in the past few days of a player looking to borrow about 50 million ounces of silver.
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