* Platinum en route to best week in six
* U.S. new home sales jump, factory activity accelerates
(Adds comment, updates prices)
By Arpan Varghese
April 23 (Reuters) - Palladium extended its blistering rally
to an all-time high within striking distance of $3,000 on Friday
on supply concerns and bets for improving demand, while gold
pulled back on strong U.S. economic data.
Palladium jumped more than 3% to a record high of
$2,925.14 per ounce, poised for a second straight weekly gain.
Many analysts expect a further run towards $3,000 as
automakers ramp up purchases of the metal, worsening a supply
shortage.
"We're expected to outstrip supply for multiple years out,"
said Phillip Streible, chief market strategist at Blue Line
Futures in Chicago.
"There's a big push for environmental reform, countries are
all in, companies are pushing for more green energy and lowering
emissions, and an effective way to do it is by retooling
catalytic converters and relying on more electric vehicles. So
that's a lot of palladium, platinum, and copper demand right
there."
Platinum rose 1.9% to $1,226.55 per ounce by 10:23
a.m. EDT (1423 GMT).
Spot gold , meanwhile, was 0.6% lower at $1,773.45 per
ounce, giving up initial gains driven by a weaker dollar and
subdued U.S. yields.
U.S. gold futures dipped 0.4% to $1,774.20 per ounce.
The dollar held near multi-week lows as investors waited for
a U.S. Federal Reserve meeting next week, while U.S. Treasury
yields slipped as traders also weighed prospects of a new tax
plan from U.S. President Joe Biden.
"The focus is turning to the Fed as in recent times we have
seen significant improvement in U.S. data. That's raising
speculation that the Fed might signal its intention to reduce
its emergency stimulus measures in the coming months," said
Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst with ThinkMarkets.
Contributing to gold's pullback, data showed U.S. factory
activity powered ahead in early April, while a rebound in new
home sales exceeded expectations in March.
Silver fell 1.1% to $25.89 per ounce.
(Reporting by Arpan Varghese and Eileen Soreng in Bengaluru;
Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
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