On Tuesday, platinum futures fell to the lowest level since January 2009, as concerns that "diesel scandal» Volkswagen (XETRA: VOWG) may lower demand for the metal from the automotive sector, continue to put pressure on prices.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, platinum futures for January delivery fell to an intraday low of $ 899.60 per ounce, the lowest level in more than six years before it recovered to $ 913.45 in morning US trading, losing $ 9.05 or 0.98%.
A day earlier, platinum lost $ 28.80, or 3.03%. The prices of this metal came under heavy selling pressure in recent sessions as the scandal around the Volkswagen (XETRA: VOWG_p), connected with the manipulation of the emission indices from diesel engines, has raised fears about slowing demand for it. Diesel engines are generally produced using platinum.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold for December delivery rose $ 5.40, or 0.48%, to get traded at $ 1126.30 per troy ounce.
On Monday, gold fell $ 13.90, or 1.21%, after the president of the New York Federal Reserve Bank, William Dudley, said the Fed is going to start raising rates this year and it could happen in the forthcoming meeting in October.
The comments came after on last Thursday, Fed Chairman Janet Yellen said the US central bank is likely to raise interest rates in 2015.
Most economists believe that the Fed will raise rates in December, after the decision to maintain the monetary policy unchanged earlier this month amid concerns about global economic growth, and in particular Chinese economy.
Time of rate hike by the Fed has been a constant subject of discussions in recent months.
Meanwhile, on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, copper futures for December delivery rose 0.6 cents, or 0.29%, to get traded at $ 2.258 per pound.
On Monday, copper lost 3.2 cents, or 1.4%, after data showed that the profits earned by Chinese industrial companies fell in August in annual terms by 8.8%.
Copper prices came under heavy selling pressure in recent weeks as concerns about global economic slowdown led by China spooked traders and undermined sentiment.
The Asian country is the world's largest consumer of copper, with its share of almost 40% of world consumption last year.