U.S. November sales declined 41 percent at General Motors Corp. and 31 percent at Ford Motor Co. Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. posted drops of 34 percent and 32 percent respectively. GM has said it may run out of cash by year-end as the recession saps demand.
Platinum for immediate delivery fell as much as 1.6 percent to $793 an ounce, before trading at $803.50 an ounce at 10:15 a.m. Singapore time.
Immediate-delivery gold dropped 0.6 percent to $777.33 an ounce at 10:23 a.m. in Singapore, after rising as much as 2.3 percent yesterday, the most in more than a week. Gold for February delivery in New York fell 0.7 percent to $777.60 an ounce.
“Gold will continue to trade in the $700 to $850 range for the rest of the year as investors seek a safe haven, while continuing to be driven by the euro-dollar relationship,” Mizuho’s Yoshii said. The euro bought $1.2704 from $1.2714 late yesterday in New York.
Among other precious metals for immediate delivery, silver lost 1.2 percent to $9.47 an ounce, and palladium was up 0.3 percent at $173.50 an ounce.
Author: Ksenia Kochneva
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Precious Metals Prices Steep Down
As Bloomberg reported, platinum declined in Asia as a deepening economic slowdown reduced sales by automakers, which account for nearly two-thirds of consumption
