Platinum Market Update

January platinum PLF5, +0.11%  dropped $24.10, or 1.9%, to $1,217.50 an ounce, while March palladium PAH5, +0.60%  shed $4.35, or 0.5%, to $803.75 an ounce.

High-grade copper for March delivery HGH5, -0.45%  gave up a penny to $2.89 a pound.

Gold Market Update

The U.S. dollar’s strength against major rivals weighed on gold Tuesday, with the precious metal slipping back below the key $1,200 mark.

Gold for February delivery GCG5, +0.08%  fell $18.70, or 1.5%, to settle at $1,199.40 an ounce after closing above $1,200 on Monday for the first time since October. Meanwhile, March silver SIH5, -0.49% shed 24 cents, or 1.4%, to $16.46 an ounce.

The ICE U.S. Dollar Index DXY, -0.03%  rose 0.8% to 88.64 after hitting its highest level in over four years earlier in the session. 

Asian Market Update

Asian markets advanced for a second straight day Wednesday following another slate of impressive US data that helped the dollar march towards the 120-yen mark for the first time in seven years.

Oil prices edged up after suffering another sell-off in New York in reaction to news that Iraq had signed a deal that will see it export more crude to an already saturated world market.

Tokyo rallied 1.03 per cent by the break, Hong Kong added 1.10 per cent, Sydney gained 0.47 per cent and Shanghai was up 0.20 per cent while Seoul put on 0.16 per cent.

The Commerce Department said Tuesday that US construction spending rose 1.1 per cent in September, almost twice as much as expected, while industry specialist AutoData said the car industry saw a healthy 4.6 per cent increase in sales last month.