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Comex gold settles unchanged

NEW YORK: Comex gold settled unchanged after a day of thin, dull trade.

Traders blamed the today's torpor in part on a holiday in London and Hong Kong overnight, while several had expected the market to remain quiet ahead of the over-the-counter options expiry Tuesday at 0930 EDT.

December gold settled unchanged at $387.80 an ounce, traded narrowly between $388.20 and $387.20, a range set by midday. Volume was very light at an estimated 10,000 lots, down from Friday's light official 12,714.

Dealers quoted bullion at $382.90/$383.40.

SILVER

Comex silver settled barely firmer in light trade, after a holiday overnight in London and Hong Kong helped put a damper on activity, traders said.

Floor sources said most of today's trade focused on the rollover into the December contract from September, which enters notice period on Thursday.

One trader said a rally in soy prices may have spurred some dealers to take long positions in silver in the morning, but these appeared largely to have been closed out by the session's end.

December silver ended 2.0 cents higher at $5.688 an ounce, traded from $5.735 to $5.63, a range set by midday. September was up 2.0 at $5.612. Volume was light at an estimated 12,000 lots, including 4,267 switches, versus Friday's 14,258.

The September contract's open interest fell Friday to about 29,000 lots, or 145 million ounces, below the current level of Comex warehouse stocks of 151,396,093 ounces.

Traders said the market would be monitoring Tuesday's over-the-counter options expiry at 0930 EDT. Most expected the event would pass without a major price move, despite a tendency in recent months for the precious metals to sell off after an OTC expiry.

PLATINUM

NYMEX platinum settled firmer after a day of quiet trade, dealers said.

One trader said modest gains in silver, as well as continued concerns about possible labor difficulties at South Africa's Impala mines, helped buoy sentiment in the platinujm market.

October platinum settled $1.90 firmer at $433.50 an ounce, traded between $435.00 and $430.70. Volume was modest at an estimated 2,480 lots, up from Friday's light 1,218.

December palladium went out $0.05 firmer at $150.50 an ounce.-Reuter