The large-spec net long also fell for silver, but increased slightly for the industrially oriented precious metals of platinum and palladium.
FORBES: CFTC: Large Speculators Cut Gold Net Length As Traders Add Short Positions
It is also the third week in a row that speculators scaled back net-longs in the disaggregated report for all precious metals except platinum.
FORBES: FOCUS: Speculators Continue To Cut Metals Positions Across The Board -- CFTC
That was the year the government was formulating a draft mining charter, proposing that companies be at least 26% black-owned in order to get a government mining license. (The draft became law in 2005.) Since then Motsepe has diversified, swallowing up or forming partnerships with several other old mining companies and adding a swath of minerals: precious metals (platinum and its cousins), nickel, chrome, iron, manganese and coal.
Although prices for precious metals outside of platinum rose slightly in the week ended Oct. 30, prices for the metals skidded Friday in the aftermath of a stronger-than-expected U.S. October payrolls data.
FORBES: FOCUS: Speculators Continue To Cut Metals Positions Across The Board -- CFTC
Given the strength of gold prices and the fact that the platinum futures made new highs in May, the 15.9% decline in the Dow Jones Platinum and Precious Metals index will likely be a surprise to some.
The price of platinum - a precious metal used in the production of car catalytic converters - was 10% lower on average in 2012 compared with 2011.
It terms of rarity, precious metal experts have concluded that platinum is 16 times more rare than gold.
Asteroids could yield precious minerals such as gold, platinum and rare-Earth metals.
Besides wondering what to expect in the way of future prices, participants will be looking for guidance on what this might mean for physical demand, as well as the outlook for industrial demand, especially for the more industrial precious metals such as silver, platinum and palladium.
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The world's biggest platinum producer said lower demand for the precious metal and higher costs meant the shafts were unprofitable.
BBC: South African miner Amplats closes shafts and cuts jobs
Platinum also has some characteristics of a precious metal, but its primary use is industrial, specifically catalytic converters in motor vehicles.
FORBES: Gold Prices Poke Above Platinum On Global Macroeconomic Concerns
But really smart connoisseurs of precious white would have stocked up on palladium, a platinum-group metal used in surgical devices, watches and electronic components.
Worries about the impact of a coal strike in South Africa appear to be having an impact on platinum group metals, said Jim Steel, precious-metals analyst with HSBC.
FORBES: Palladium Hits Highest Level Since February; Platinum Also Rises
Meanwhile, other precious metals with industrial ties such as silver and the platinum group metals have faltered as investors move from risk and from concerns about reduced global growth increase amid disappointing economic data.
FORBES: METALS OUTLOOK: Greece, Dollar To Influence Gold Next Week
Disputes over control of hard currency revenue streams and precious resources like oil, gas, gold, diamonds, platinum must be expected.
The platinum group metals saw a slight rebound, but continue to underperform other parts of the precious-metals complex.
Because of their industrial use, platinum tends to trade more like copper, based on industrial demand, than as a precious metal.
As prices for precious metals rose going into the reporting period, speculators sought to increase their bullish holdings for all but platinum in both the legacy and disaggregated weekly commitment of traders reports released by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission for the week ended June 5.
FORBES: FOCUS: Speculative Buyers Mostly Return To Precious Metals -CFTC
Other precious metals, and industrial metals for that matter, have not escaped the recent downward pressure on commodity prices as platinum, palladium, aluminum and copper also posted losses on April 15.
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