Precious metals prices gain

Price for precious metals were higher on Wednesday as markets were unsettled by rumors of military action in the Persian Gulf region. The rumors turned out to be false, but metals prices stayed higher anyway.

April gold added $4.30 to $666.80 per troy ounce and traded in a range between $663.30 and $669.80 per troy ounce, with the high being reached early in the session. Prices were also supported by comments by US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke. Spot gold was quoted at $666.10/$666.66 per troy ounce, with the late afternoon fix in London at $666.75 per troy ounce.

In other precious metals, May silver added 17.5 cents to $13.455 per troy ounce, with trading in the range between $13.330 and $13.545. April platinum added $8.80 to $1,250 per troy ounce, while June palladium added $1.85 by the close to $357.85 per troy ounce.

In base metals, three-month nickel was $750 higher to trade at $43,550 per tonne on the growth in production of stainless steel. Production was up by over 16 percent in 2006 and is predicted to continue growing in 2007. The global stainless steel market accounts for about three-fourths of total nickel consumption.