gold

Gold should continue outperforming platinum group
metals, at least in 1H 2012, when ratio plays could pay off, says VTB Capital
analyst Andrey Kryuchenkov. He says platinum and palladium, which have slumped
amid growing economic concerns over growth rates into 2012 and the lingering
euro-zone debt crisis, are likely to struggle to gain traction again next year
as risk aversion increases in the broader markets. "2012 is to be overshadowed
by ongoing macro jitters and slowing global growth, with commodity baskets and
synthetic long funds likely to underperform," he adds. PGMs are widely used in
the automotive sector, and for other industrial and chemical applications. Spot
platinum, which has fallen 22% year-to-date, recently traded up $7.05 at
$1,374.05/oz.