The price of platinum, the precious metal used to make anti-pollution equipment for vehicles, is in a slump due to the global economic downturn, but it's especially bad in Europe where platinum demand is greatest. Nevertheless, analysts are bullish, believing the price will rise in the latter half of the year and into the next.
Asian shares fell Friday and the safe-haven dollar hovered near its highest in a week-and-a-half after weak manufacturing data from the United States, Europe and China heightened fears over the outlook for global growth.
Among the companies whose shares are moving in pre-market trading Friday are: Molina Healthcare, China TransInfo Technology, Strategic Hotels, France Telecom, Barrick Gold, Rio Tinto, Randgold Resources, Alcoa and Bank of America Corp.
Among the companies whose shares are moving in pre-market trading Monday are: AuRico Gold, Tata Motors, Cooper Companies, Seadrill, First Solar, salesforce.com, Schlumberger and Yum! Brands.
As the risk of a messy Greek exit from the euro and a general breakup of the euro zone spark global slowdown fears, panicked investors have fled the troubled euro to safe havens such as U.S. treasuries and, crucially, the dollar.
Gold rose more than 1 percent on Friday, building on the previous session's hefty gains, as a recovery in the euro prompted fresh buying of the precious metal after prices slid to five-month lows earlier this week.
Commodities prices fell Wednesday as investors, preparing for the fallout from an expected Greek exit from the euro zone, abandoned industrial and precious metals for the safety of German and U.S. government debt.
Silver enjoyed a record 2011, as investors turned to physical bars and coins of the precious metal to piggyback a strong year for gold, according to The Silver Institute's World Silver Survey 2012 released on Thursday.
Fresnillo, the world's largest primary silver producer, posted first-quarter output of the metal in line with its expectations and said production of gold was ahead of target, helped by the start-up of a new mine in Mexico.
Gold prices slipped below $1,670 an ounce on Friday, pausing in their biggest one-week rally since late February as the dollar firmed against key currencies, with the euro falling out of favour due to worries over Spain's financial health.
India's gold-jewelry traders, the largest buyers of bullion, called off a 21-day strike after Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee agreed to consider rolling back recent increases in gold taxes.
Gold prices hit their lowest since early January on Wednesday as comments from the European Central Bank lifted the dollar to three-week highs against the euro, accelerating a fall sparked by declining expectations of more U.S. monetary easing.
Gold prices rose above $1,680 an ounce on Monday as the dollar steadied off earlier one-month highs against the euro, with the U.S. unit further paring gains after U.S. construction spending and manufacturing data.
Gold prices rose on Friday as the dollar fell to a one-month low against a basket of currencies, including the euro, after European finance ministers agreed to boost the euro zone's debt crisis firewall to roughly 800 billion euros ($1.1 trillion).
South Africa's government is to plough $420 million into a public-private platinum venture with Pallinghurst Resources that has ambitions to become the world's third-largest producer of the precious metal.
Palladium prices are set to soar this year, buoyed by high levels of speculative buying, unwavering industrial demand and the general upward price pressure commodity metals are seeing in a zero-interest rate environment, according to a report issued Thursday.
Gold was largely unchanged on Friday, but posted its second-biggest weekly decline this year due to an early week drop after the FederalReserve withheld additional easing amid a string of encouraging U.S. economic data.
India, the world's No. 1 gold buyer, plans to double the duty on imports of the precious metal, according to reports Friday, its second such move this year. Gold prices fell nearly 1 percent.
Gold fell on Monday, under pressure from a softer euro and from dwindling expectations for the Federal Reserve to signal the need for more measures to keep U.S. rates low, although longer-term investors took their bullion holdings to a fresh record.
Gold edged lower on Monday after equities reversed gains and the U.S. dollar rallied to the highest in more than a month, but some investors opted to stay on the sidelines ahead of a U.S. Federal Reserve meeting this week that could weigh on the precious metal.
Gold prices snapped three days of losses to rise on Wednesday, helped by the euro paring losses versus the dollar, which eased negative currency effects on the precious metal, and by a tentative recovery in demand for physical gold at lower prices.
Gold is down more than 6 percent since late February, having dropped sharply from the year's highs after U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke held off signaling a further round of U.S. monetary easing in a key speech.