According to Barclays, the euro strengthened further against the dollar during the session but our FX strategists note a further rally would provide a better entry level for EUR-bearish trades which could cap Gold prices.
However, prices breaching important technical levels in the absence of demand from China this week bodes well for gold. PGM price action was mixed on Thursday following the release of quarterly production reports from two of the top three South African Platinum producers.
Anglo Platinum, the largest producer, reported its platinum production was down 19% y/y at 710koz taking production for the full year down 2% y/y at 2.5Moz compared with company guidance of 2.6Moz. The company noted there were 32 safety stoppages during Q4 11 compared to 14 in Q4 10 and 16 in Q3 11 taking stoppages for the full year to 81 compared to 36 in 2010.
Lonmin reported its platinum production was up 3% y/y at 187koz in Q4 11 and up 2% for the calendar year at 726koz and the company maintains its fullyear sales guidance for its financial year to September 2012 at 750koz.
Separately, Impala Platinum has said it has given dismissed workers until today to reapply for their jobs. The company said it was losing 3koz of PGM production per day while 250 workers had returned to reapply for their positions by Wednesday afternoon according to Mining Weekly.
