Commodities : Precious Metals Advance

Rallies in most grain and livestock futures markets revived some inflation fears Thursday and helped send precious-metals prices higher, analysts said. Energy futures, however, were lower.

The metals broke through some key resistance areas, tripping buy-stops on their way to sharp gains, said Stephen W. Platt, an analyst in Chicago with the investment firm Dean Witter Reynolds Inc.

The June silver delivery touched $8 an ounce before settling back a few cents on the Commodity Exchange in New York. Gold was up $7 or more an ounce.

“The gains didn’t appear to be based on the dollar,” said Platt. “Rather, it was more associated with some of the other markets, grains and livestock, and the inflation psychology generated there.”

On the Commodity Exchange in New York, gold settled $7 to $7.20 higher, with the contract for delivery in June at $463.70 an ounce. Silver was 12.5 cents to 12.9 cents higher, with June at $7.974 an ounce.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, platinum gained $16.10, with the July contract settling at $599.80 an ounce.