Impressive gains are seen in platinum and palladium, which are rising strongly above their recent ranges.

Prices are being driven up by hedge funds, which are buying platinum because its fundamentals are looking good. Platinum has been in deficit for the past six years, and it's expected it will be in deficit this year.

The strong price action and impressive technical trends in various currencies suggest prices should remain elevated in 2006.

Platinum looks set to test $1100/oz while a break above $298/oz would leave the way clear for palladium to test of $330/oz.

We will not rule out the possibility of further weakness and prices are likely to remain volatile in a broader range.

Any price dip has been quite well supported by fund buying, and aggressive selling has been discouraged. The positive sentiment remains very strong and people are looking for further price gains.