NOT up 8.5%.

Weak dollar, strong NOT.

------------------------------------...

Platinum Jumps Most Since 2000 as Dollar Drop Adds Hedge Demand

By Halia Pavliva

Sept. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Platinum gained the most in eight years as the dollar dropped to a three-week low against the euro, spurring demand for the precious metal as an alternative investment to the U.S. currency. Palladium also rose.

Weakening for a fourth day against the euro, the dollar extended its longest decline since June on speculation that a U.S. Treasury plan to spend $700 billion buying troubled assets from financial companies will widen the country's budget deficit. Some investors buy precious metals, including platinum and palladium, as a store of value when the dollar declines.

``I expect we will continue to see a strong precious metals market as there remains very few places for the investment flow,'' Miguel Perez-Santalla, a sales vice president at Heraeus Precious Metals Management in New York, said today in a note to clients.