Palladium climbed for a 13th straight session on Wednesday to trade near its highest since 2001 on concerns over supply constraints in major producer South Africa, amid strong demand for the metal from the auto industry.
Gold was steady just below $1,320 an ounce as markets awaited the minutes of the Federal Reserve's June policy meeting to gauge the U.S. central bank's outlook for the economy and interest rates.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Palladiumrose 0.4 percent to $871.05 an ounce by 0039 GMT. It hit a 13-year high of $873.75 on Tuesday.
* A five-month long strike in the South Africa, the second biggest producer of palladium, ended last month but markets continue to believe supply will be affected. The metal is mainly used in autocatalysts in automobile manufacturing.
* The metal also got a boost from data last week that showed that U.S. auto sales hit an eight-year high in June.
* Meanwhile, spot goldwas little changed at $1,318.85 an ounce.
* A strong U.S. jobs report stoked fears of an earlier-than-expected rate hike in the world's largest economy. Investors will be watching minutes of the Fed policy meeting expected later today for clues on the timing of a rate hike.
* SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings rose 2.09 tonnes to 800.28 tonnes on Tuesday. [GOL/ETF]
* Dubai's Gold and Commodities Exchange could launch a spot silver contract after its first spot gold contract is offered this quarter, the company said.
Gold was steady just below $1,320 an ounce as markets awaited the minutes of the Federal Reserve's June policy meeting to gauge the U.S. central bank's outlook for the economy and interest rates.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Palladium
* A five-month long strike in the South Africa, the second biggest producer of palladium, ended last month but markets continue to believe supply will be affected. The metal is mainly used in autocatalysts in automobile manufacturing.
* The metal also got a boost from data last week that showed that U.S. auto sales hit an eight-year high in June.
* Meanwhile, spot gold
* A strong U.S. jobs report stoked fears of an earlier-than-expected rate hike in the world's largest economy. Investors will be watching minutes of the Fed policy meeting expected later today for clues on the timing of a rate hike.
* SPDR Gold Trust
* Dubai's Gold and Commodities Exchange could launch a spot silver contract after its first spot gold contract is offered this quarter, the company said.
