Boost for precious metals as gold shines Gold hovered around a two-week high on Wednesday, falling back slightly on light profit-taking ahead of the European Central Bank meeting on Thursday, although trading was thin due to the Independence Day holiday in the US. The yellow metal, which regained the $1,600 mark at the end of last week after a European Union summit agreement on crisis-fighting measures, has been supported by increasing hopes of US monetary easing ahead of June jobs data on Friday, as well as rate cut expectations in Europe. But analysts said a rush to cover bearish positions, rather than new bullish bets, was behind the rally. Edel Tully, precious metals strategist at UBS, said there was "scepticism that gold can hold on to its recent gains" after the metal traded above $1,600 a troy ounce "on a number of occasions in recent weeks, only to succumb to an eventual test of the mid-$1,500s." The precious metal, which hit this week's high of $1,624.70 on Tuesday, was trading at $1,614.79, up 2.8 per cent on the week. There was a return in some Indian physical buying, which had been conspicuous by its absence, said traders. "At the moment, the direction of the rupee continues to be the main driver for physical offtake from this region," said Ms Tully. Other precious metals have also been firmer on monetary easing expectations, with silver trading at $28.12 a troy ounce, up 4.6 per cent on the week. Platinum and palladium, which are used in catalytic converters for cars, enjoyed support from stronger-than-expected US June vehicles sales figures released on Tuesday. The sales figure of 14.1m exceeded expectations of 13.9m. It was also a small increase from the previous month's 13.7m, encouraging investors after the slowdown in numbers in recent months. Platinum was trading at $1,475.50 a troy ounce, up 5 per cent on the week, while palladium was at $591.18 a troy ounce, adding 2.8 per cent from a week ago. Standard Bank analysts remained cautious on demand for platinum and other similar precious metals. With "the ongoing troubles in the eurozone, auto catalyst demand remains weak, and, consequently, we foresee continued lacklustre industrial demand as an anchor on prices despite supply disruptions in South Africa," said the bank.