Oil slips for a third straight day on prospect of US rates staying high

NEW YORK – Oil prices fell more than 1% on Wednesday, retreating for a third straight day, as Fed officials rekindled worries about oil demand when they indicated interest rate cuts might be deferred due to sustained inflation.

Brent crude futures settled 98 cents lower, or 1.18%, at USD 81.90 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) was down USD 1.09, or 1.39%, to USD 77.57. Both benchmarks settled about 1% lower on Tuesday.

Federal Reserve officials at their last policy meeting indicated inflation could take longer to ease than previously thought, minutes of the Federal Reserve’s May policy-setting meeting, released on Wednesday, showed.

Lower interest rates reduce borrowing costs, freeing up funds that could boost economic growth and demand for oil.

“I wouldn’t expect rate cuts to come before one of the fall meetings,” said John Kilduff of Again Capital.

Also in the US, Energy Information Administration said crude stocks rose by 1.8 million barrels during the week ended May 17. That compares with a 2.5-million-barrel draw analysts forecast in a Reuters poll and a 2.48-million-barrel rise shown in the data from the American Petroleum Institute (API), an industry group.

“There was strong demand from refiners for crude oil and the gasoline demand was one of the highest we’ve seen in quite some time,” Kilduff said. Part of that demand increase was due to pre-Memorial Day weekend stockpiling by suppliers, he noted.

Crude markets have been pressured by weakening fundamentals, such as falling spot Brent over futures and softer refinery margins. This will likely force OPEC+ to extend production cuts at its June meeting to support prices, according to Ole Hansen, Saxo Bank’s head of commodity strategy.

Physical crude markets have been weakening. In another sign that concern of tight prompt supply is easing, the premium of Brent’s first-month contract over the second, known as backwardation, is close to its lowest since January.

“The view on the fundamental outlook remains grim,” said Tamas Varga, an analyst with oil broker PVM.

(Reporting by Nicole Jao; Additional reporting by Alex Lawler, Deep Vakil, and Sudarshan Varadhan; Editing by Jan Harvey, Will Dunham, Mark Potter, Leslie Adler, and David Gregorio)

Oil falls 1% on sticky US inflation, dampened geopolitical risk premium

HOUSTON – Oil prices settled 1% lower on Tuesday as lingering US inflation looked likely to keep interest rates higher for longer, weighing on fuel demand.

Brent crude futures settled down 83 cents, or 1%, to USD 82.88 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) futures for June, which expired on Tuesday, slipped by 54 cents, or 0.7%, to USD 79.26.

The more active July contract settled down 64 cents, at USD 78.66.

Higher borrowing costs can slow economic growth and pressure oil demand.

“The market is very focused on gasoline demand in the US because there are signs that consumers are cutting back because of inflation. Unless that turns around, the market is suggesting things could be a little bleak,” said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Price Futures Group.

Ahead of this weekend’s Memorial Day holiday, which kicks off the US peak summer driving season, retail gasoline prices fell for the fourth consecutive week to USD 3.58 per gallon on Monday, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in its gasoline and diesel fuel update.

The US will sell the nearly 1 million barrels of gasoline in a reserve in northeastern states, with bids due on May 28, the Department of Energy said on Tuesday.

US diesel prices have also slipped, according to the EIA, down 5.9 cents on the week on Monday, at USD 3.89 per gallon. Diesel is a key refined product for both the industrial sector and transport.

Investors are awaiting minutes from the Fed’s last policy meeting due on Wednesday, as well as weekly US oil inventory data from the EIA, also due on Wednesday.

“There is nothing in the market right now that is pushing prices higher. If we see a little bit of a stock draw tomorrow that may help push prices back up into the USD 78.50-USD 80 per barrel range,” said Tim Snyder, economist at Matador Economics.

US crude oil and gasoline inventories rose last week, while distillates fell, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute (API) figures on Tuesday.

The API figures showed crude stocks were up by 2.48 million barrels in the week ended May 17, the sources said on condition of anonymity. Gasoline inventories rose by 2.1 million barrels, and distillates fell by 320,000 barrels.

Two Federal Reserve policymakers on Tuesday said it was prudent for the US central bank to wait several more months to ensure that inflation is back on a path to the 2% target before commencing interest rate cuts.

The economic outlook in Europe is more positive. European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said in an interview she was “really confident” that eurozone inflation is under control. The ECB has all but promised a rate cut on June 6, so policymakers have shifted their attention to debating where rates will go thereafter.

The market appeared largely unaffected by the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, a hardliner and potential successor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in a helicopter crash on Sunday.

The structure of the Brent contract is weakening in an indication of a softer market and strong supply.

The front-month Brent contract’s premium to the second-month contract narrowed to 10 cents, its weakest since January.

(Reporting by Georgina McCartney in Houston, Noah Browning; Additional reporting by Deep Vakil in Bengaluru, Yuka Obayashi in Tokyo, and Trixie Yap in Singapore; Editing by David Goodman, Marguerita Choy, Bill Berkrot, Kevin Liffey, and David Gregorio)

Dollar firm as Fed officials urge patience on rate cuts

NEW YORK – The US dollar edged up against the euro on Tuesday, as Federal Reserve policymakers said it is prudent for the US central bank to wait several more months to ensure that inflation really is back on a path to the 2% target before commencing interest rate cuts.

Against other currencies, the greenback was mostly flat ahead of the US Memorial Day holiday next week.

“Amid a paucity of economic data catalysts this week, trading ranges have narrowed across currency markets. The dollar remains on a solid footing however, bolstered by a drumbeat of high-for-long messages from Fed officials,” said Karl Schamotta, chief market strategist, at Corpay in Toronto.

Fed Governor Christopher Waller told the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington, on Tuesday, he would need to see several more months of good inflation data before he would be comfortable supporting an easing in the stance of monetary policy.

Waller, however, did put a pin in any speculation that interest rates may need to rise again for demand to soften enough to ease price pressures further, saying the latest inflation data is “reassuring” and the probability of a rate hike is “very low.”

Atlanta Fed Chair Raphael Bostic also spoke on Tuesday and warned against cutting rates too quickly. The Fed, he said, needs to be cautious about approving its first rate cut to be sure it does not touch off pent-up spending among businesses and households, and put the central bank in a position where inflation starts “bouncing around.”

“Fed speakers are driving the market – and they, so far, haven’t said anything traders didn’t expect,” said Helen Given, FX trader, at Monex USA in Washington.

“Barring a surprise from the FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) minutes tomorrow afternoon, it’s likely that this could stay a fairly quiet week.”

Fed Chair Jerome Powell, in his press briefing after the Fed held rates steady earlier this month, also ruled out rate hikes.

“What that does is it takes out the tail-risk scenario that the Fed is still thinking about hikes because they are effectively questioning their assumption that rates are restrictive enough,” said Vishal Khanduja, co-head of Broad Markets Fixed Income at Morgan Stanley Investment Management.

The euro was 0.05% lower at USD 1.0852.

Investors will be watching Thursday’s data from the European Central Bank negotiated wage tracker and the euro zone Purchasing Managers’ Index which could provide further clues about the monetary cycle in the euro area.

On Tuesday, the US currency slipped 0.04% against the Japanese yen to 156.20.

This dollar-yen pair has moved in tight ranges in the past couple of trading days after a tumultuous start to May in the wake of suspected rounds of currency interventions by Tokyo to prop up the yen.

Fears of intervention from Japanese authorities have deterred traders from pushing the yen to new lows. The yen dropped to more than 160 per dollar on April 29, its weakest in 34 years.

CRYPTO GAINS

In cryptocurrencies, ether was set for its largest two-day gain in nearly two years and bitcoin approached a record high on speculation about the outcome of applications for US spot exchange-traded funds that would track the world’s second-biggest cryptocurrency.

Ether was 6.5% higher at USD 3,728.70 after earlier hitting USD 3,838.80, its highest level since mid-March. It surged nearly 14% in the previous session – its largest daily percentage gain since November 2022.

Bitcoin broke above the USD 70,000 level and was last trading up 0.25% higher at USD 69,707. It hit its all-time high at USD 73,803.25 in March.

(Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss in New York and Stefano Rebaudo in Milan; Additional reporting by Rae Wee in Singapore; Editing by Susan Fenton, Alison Williams, and Sandra Maler)

Two US asset managers launch weight-loss ETFs

Two separate asset-management firms announced the debut of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on Tuesday, both of which are designed to give investors exposure to stocks like Eli Lilly & Co. and Novo Nordisk which are pioneers in developing new anti-obesity drugs.

Amplify ETFs said its Amplify Weight Loss Drug & Treatment ETF will track the VettaFi Weight Loss Drug & Treatment Index, while the Roundhill GLP-1 & Weight Loss ETF will be actively managed by the team at Roundhill Investments.

The two products take slightly different approaches to building a portfolio around the new category of medications to treat obesity, known as glucagon-like peptide-1 or GLP-1 drugs. Roundhill plans to focus squarely on pharmaceutical companies developing new drug therapies, while Amplify will include a 30% weighting to companies involved in related businesses, such as manufacturing, analysis, or distribution of these medications.

The number of ETFs targeting this booming segment of the pharmaceutical market appears to be exploding. In early 2020, Janus Henderson closed its own obesity-focused ETF, leaving investors with only broader pharmaceutical or healthcare fund options. But last month, Tema, another niche asset manager, re-branded and re-launched a five-month-old ETF investing in stocks targeting cardiovascular and metabolic health. The more narrowly focused Tema Obesity and Cardiometabolic ETF has added more than USD 63 million since then.

It remains to be seen how long investors remain enthusiastic about ETFs tied to this particular trend, however. In the first four months of this year, ETFs designed to appeal to investors keeping tabs on trends like cybersecurity, working from home, pet care, or cannabis have recorded outflows of USD 2.4 billion, compared with outflows of USD 4.9 billion in 2023.

(Reporting by Suzanne McGee in Providence, Rhode Island; Editing by Matthew Lewis)

Yields dip before Fed meeting minutes

US Treasury yields dipped on Tuesday as investors waited on minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting on Wednesday for any fresh clues on when the US central bank is likely to begin cutting interest rates.

Benchmark 10-year yields have fallen from five-month highs reached in late April as data weakens and inflation shows signs of easing.

“There’s reason to believe that the rapid pace (in inflation) that we saw in Q1 can’t continue and won’t continue going forward,” said Michael Lorizio, senior fixed-income trader at Manulife Investment Management in Boston.

Lower-than-expected consumer price data and weaker retail sales data for April last week boosted expectations the Fed will begin cutting rates in September. But those expectations have since been pared back as Fed officials stress the need to see further progress.

Fed policymakers on Tuesday said it is prudent to wait several more months to ensure that inflation really is back on a path to the 2% target before commencing interest rate cuts.

Economic surprise indices are easing, after increasing in the first quarter, which could support the bond market if it continues.

“The data looks like it’s beginning to slip and certainly slipping significantly from our expectations, so I think that should be supportive of yields in the near term unless we see once again the data releases reverse,” Lorizio said.

The Fed minutes from its April 30-May 1 meeting due on Wednesday may reflect more concern about higher-than-expected inflation in the first quarter, as the meeting was held before last week’s consumer price inflation report.

The US central bank signaled at the meeting that it is still leaning towards eventual reductions in borrowing costs, but acknowledged that disappointing inflation readings could make those rate cuts a while in coming.

The minutes may also offer more detail on the Fed’s plans to slow down the reduction in its balance sheet.

The Fed announced it would scale back the pace at which it is shrinking its balance sheet starting on June 1, allowing only USD 25 billion in Treasury bonds to run off each month versus the current USD 60 billion. Mortgage-backed securities will continue to run off by up to USD 35 billion monthly.

Benchmark 10-year note yields were last down 2 basis points on the day at 4.416%. They have fallen from 4.739% on April 25, which was the highest since Nov. 2.

Two-year yields fell half a basis point to 4.833%. They reached 5.045% on April 30, the highest since Nov. 14.

The inversion in the yield curve between two-year and 10-year yields US2US10=TWEB widened one basis point to minus 42 basis points.

(Reporting By Karen Brettell; Editing by Sharon Singleton and Nick Zieminski)

Gold prices cool near record peak as dollar holds footing

Gold prices cooled near a record peak hit in the previous session on Tuesday as the dollar held ground, but stayed afloat at the USD 2,400 level on support from safe-haven interest and prospects of US interest rates easing this year.

Spot gold fell 0.2% to USD 2,420.49 per ounce by 1756 GMT, as the US dollar index edged up, making bullion more expensive for other currency holders.

US gold futures settled 0.5% lower to USD 2,425.90.

As gold scaled a record high of USD 2,449.89 on Monday, “the general picture has not really changed (since March) … which is just the backdrop of very attractive global macroeconomic and geopolitical environment for gold,” said Nikos Kavalis, managing director at Metals Focus.

Concerns about the rapidly rising US government debt as the Federal Reserve tries to make for a soft landing are drivers for some investors.

Recent data suggested that US inflation resumed its downward trend, however, several Fed policymakers remained cautious about cutting rates too soon but ruled out the need for a hike.

Elsewhere in China, where efforts are being made to stabilize its crisis-hit property sector, investors are inclined to invest in safe-haven gold.

China itself, officially loaded up bullion in the first quarter of 2024.

“Gold’s key role is to offset risk, whether financial, geopolitical, or volatility. That is not new, but sentiment has now realized,” StoneX analyst Rhona O’Connell said.

Global gold physically backed gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) saw net inflows of USD 1 billion last week – the largest weekly inflow since October 2023, according to the World Gold Council.

“More and more investors, including a lot of mainstream investors, like macro funds and the likes, have missed a part of that rally, and are convinced by the case for gold and therefore want to participate,” Kavalis said, adding however that the market is ripe for correction before prices could further move up.

Investors will keep a tab on minutes of the Fed’s last policy meeting due on Wednesday.

Silver rose 0.2% to USD 31.90 after hitting an over 11-year high in the last session. Platinum rose 0.7% to USD 1,054.00 per ounce and palladium fell 0.1% to USD 1,025.43 per ounce.

(Reporting by Harshit Verma and Rahul Paswan in Bengaluru, additional reporting by Ashitha Shivaprasad; Editing by Franklin Paul, Shailesh Kuber, and Alan Barona)

US yields drift higher in quiet trading session

NEW YORK – US Treasury yields ticked higher on Monday as investors likely sold government bonds to buy new corporate debt, while Federal Reserve officials pointed to uncertainty over the central bank’s ability to cut interest rates if inflation remains sticky.

Investors largely expected a period of consolidation in Treasuries after softening consumer prices last month strengthened views that the Federal Reserve may be able to cut interest rates twice this year.

Yields, which move inversely to prices, have mostly declined over the past few weeks on indications that the economy was slowing, partly reversing months of gains caused by fears that inflation was rebounding.

Monday’s yield increases were a sign the market was “trying to find a balance” after the recent bond rally, said Danny Zaid, a portfolio manager at TwentyFour Asset Management, who expects Treasuries to be less volatile over the next few weeks.

The ICE BofA MOVE Index, a measure of expected volatility in US Treasuries, stood at its lowest since the end of March.

“It’s very quiet … I think the selling probably has more to do with new issue deals announced this morning,” said Tony Farren, managing director at Mischler Financial Group, referring to a slate of new corporate bond sales announced on Monday.

With no US economic data releases on both Monday and Tuesday, Fed officials’ remarks took center stage ahead of Wednesday’s publication of minutes of the Fed’s most recent policy meting, which may provide more insight on the central bank’s views on the path of interest rates.

Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said in an interview on Monday that “it will take a while” for the Fed to be confident that inflation is on track back to the central bank’s 2% goal.

Fed vice chair for supervision Michael Barr struck a similar tone, saying that inflation data in the first months of this year has been disappointing, which left the central bank short of the evidence it needs to ease monetary policy.

“We will need to allow our restrictive policy some further time to continue its work,” Barr said.

Separately, Fed Vice Chairman Phillip Jefferson said he was cautiously optimistic the central bank could continue to battle inflation while permitting the economy to grow.

Traders of futures tied to the Fed’s policy rate on Monday saw a total of about 42 basis points of interest rate cuts this year, down from over 50 basis points in the aftermath of data last week showing US consumer price inflation cooled in April.

Benchmark 10-year yields were last seen at 4.437%, nearly two basis points higher than Friday. Two-year yields, which tend to more closely reflect monetary policy expectations, were last at 4.837%, up about one basis point.

(Reporting by Davide Barbuscia)

Dollar edges higher as investors await Fed guidance

NEW YORK – The dollar edged up against the euro on Monday as investors awaited further clues on the path of US interest rates in the wake of cautious comments from Federal Reserve officials, even as inflation showed signs of cooling.

Federal Reserve officials are not ready to say inflation is heading to the US central bank’s 2% target after data last week showed a welcome easing in consumer price pressures in April, with several on Monday calling for continued policy caution.

Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said on Monday it will take a while for the Federal Reserve to be confident that inflation is on track back to its goal.

“The issue right now is when are we going to be certain that inflation is clearly on a path back to 2%. I think it’s going to take a while before we know that for sure,” Bostic said in an interview with Bloomberg Television.

Speaking at the Mortgage Bankers Association conference in New York, Fed Vice Chair Philip Jefferson said it is too early to tell whether the recent slowdown in the disinflationary process will be long-lasting.

The euro was 0.05% down against the dollar at USD 1.0863. Against the yen, the dollar was up 0.4% to 156.26 yen.

Data last week showed US consumer prices rose less than expected in April, leading to markets pricing in 50 basis points of Fed rate cuts this year.

With little in the way of economic data on the calendar for the day, most major currency pairs clung to tight trading ranges on Monday.

“I think after CPI passed last week the FX market is rather lacking a catalyst at this stage,” said Michael Brown, market analyst at online broker Pepperstone in London.

“While the FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) calendar is, again, stupendously busy, it seems there’s little fresh information that speakers can add at this stage, especially with the reaction function so well-signposted, another hike all but ruled out, and a couple more promising inflation figures, at least, needed to provide the requisite confidence of inflation returning towards 2% before the first cut can be delivered,” Brown said.

Survey-based gauges of the economy for the eurozone, Germany, the UK, and the United States are due this week.

The euro remained not far from the nearly two-month high of USD 1.0895 it touched last week. It is up 1.8% so far in May, boosted by a fall in the dollar on the back of softer US growth and inflation data, as well as a pickup in the eurozone economy.

With the Japanese yen weaker on the day, traders remained on alert for signs of government intervention. The currency has moved in tight ranges in the past couple of trading days after a tumultuous start to May in the wake of suspected rounds of currency interventions by Tokyo to prop up the yen.

Sterling was up 0.07% at USD 1.2711 on the day after touching a two-month high of USD 1.27255, ahead of a UK inflation report due on Wednesday.

The Australian dollar was down 0.3% at USD 0.6671. The Aussie has risen 3% this month amid high Australian inflation. Monday’s weakness in the commodity-linked currency despite strength in commodity prices bodes ill for the near-term outlook for the Australian dollar, Pepperstone’s Brown said.

“(The weakness) on a day with commodities rallying and equities solid enough, (is) perhaps a canary in the coal mine for antipodean bulls,” Brown said.

In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin was 2.7% higher on the day at USD 68,715, a new five-week high.

(Reporting by Saqib Iqbal Ahmed; Additional reporting by Harry Robertson in London and Ankur Banerjee in Singapore; Editing by Sharon Singleton, Bernadette Baum, Will Dunham, and Jonathan Oatis)

Oil eases on worries about US inflation, interest rates

NEW YORK – Oil prices eased less than 1% on Monday as US Federal Reserve officials said they were awaiting more signs that inflation was declining before the central bank starts cutting interest rates.

Two top Fed officials said they’re not yet ready to say inflation trends are again moving sustainably back to the central bank’s 2% target, weighing in after data last week showed a welcome easing in consumer price pressures in April.

Lower interest rates would reduce borrowing costs for consumers and businesses, which could boost economic growth and demand for oil.

Brent futures fell 27 cents, or 0.3%, to settle at USD 83.71 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 26 cents, or 0.3%, to settle at USD 79.80.

That kept the premium of Brent over WTI near its lowest level since March for a third day in a row. A narrower premium makes it less profitable for energy companies to send vessels to the US to pick up crude cargo for export. That leaves more oil in the US that must be consumed or stored.

The premium of the Brent front-month over the second month, known in the industry as backwardation, fell to its lowest since January.

When a market is in backwardation, energy firms are more likely to pull oil out of storage and use it now rather than wait for prices to decline in the future. If the market switches to contango, with future contracts worth more than the front-month, energy firms could start storing oil for the future, which could depress prices.

UNFAZED BY WORLD EVENTS

The market, however, appeared unfazed by political uncertainty in two major oil-producing countries after Iran’s president died in a helicopter crash and Saudi Arabia’s crown prince deferred a trip to Japan because of the health of his father, the king.

Iranian oil policy should be unaffected by the president’s sudden death because Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei holds ultimate power with the final say on all state matters.

In Saudi Arabia, the market is already accustomed to Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s leadership in the energy sector, said Saul Kavonic, an energy analyst at MST Marquee.

“Continuity in Saudi strategy is expected regardless of this health issue,” he said.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, together known as OPEC+, are scheduled to meet on June 1.

“The market also appears increasingly numb to developments on the geopolitical front, likely due to the large amount of spare capacity OPEC is sitting on,” said Warren Patterson, head of commodities strategy at ING.

Data showed that Saudi Arabia’s crude oil exports rose for a second consecutive month in March, reaching their highest in nine months.

Russia remained China’s top oil supplier in April for a 12th month, with volumes rising 30% from a year earlier as refiners continued to cash in discounted shipments, while supplies from Saudi Arabia fell a quarter on higher prices.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said gas output rose by 8% in the first four months of the year but oil output declined by 1.8%, a dip largely due to production cuts under OPEC+ agreements.

Even though the Slavyansk oil refinery in the Krasnodar region of Russia was damaged by a drone attack over the weekend, Russia said it suspended a ban on gasoline exports until June 30. The country, however, said it would put the ban back in place from July 1 to Aug. 31.

(Reporting by Scott DiSavino In New York, Natalie Grover in London, Deep Vakil in Bengaluru, Colleen Howe in Beijing, and Florence Tan in Singapore; editing by Jonathan Oatis and Nick Zieminski)

‘Perfect storm’ steers gold to another record high; silver jumps

Gold prices rose to an all-time high on Monday as a cocktail of factors from US rate cut expectations, China’s stimulus measures to geopolitical tensions lifted demand, with the momentum also carrying silver to a more than 11-year peak.

Spot gold rose 0.9% to USD 2,435.96 per ounce as of 2:26 p.m. ET (1826 GMT) after hitting a record high of USD 2,449.89 earlier in the session.

US gold futures settled 0.9% higher to USD 2,438.50.

“Inflation is sticky, we may see some whipsaws in the inflation data, but also the burdening debt in the US, there is a cause to be diversified away from that too. So it’s this perfect storm that’s kept the market elevated in gold,” said Daniel Pavilonis, senior market strategist at RJO Futures.

Data last week showed that US consumer prices increased less than expected in April, suggesting that inflation resumed its downward trend, boosting expectations for a September interest rate cut.

Lower rates reduce the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion, which also benefits from uncertainty in the market.

RJO’s Pavilonis expects gold to propel to near USD 2,500 in the short term as there’s a fear of missing out from gold’s rally. “There’s a lot of non-traders that are calling up places(brokers) … to buy futures or to take physical delivery.”

Gold has also been supported by increased holdings in China’s central bank.

Adding to gold’s upside was elevated risk aversion as Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, was killed in a helicopter crash, analysts at Kitco Metals wrote in a note.

Meanwhile, some analysts also pointed out gold’s surge to China’s announcement of “historic” steps to stabilize its crisis-hit property sector. China is a key consumer of gold and other industrial metals.

Spot silver rose 2.2% to USD 32.17 after hitting an over 11-year high.

Platinum dipped 2.5% to USD 1,053.43 after hitting its highest since May 2023. Palladium rose 2% to USD 1,028.66.

“Platinum is trading at a premium over palladium with rising inflows of exchange-traded funds,” ANZ said in a note.

(Reporting by Harshit Verma in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber, Ravi Prakash Kumar, and Alan Barona)

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