By Nicholas Larkin Dec. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Platinum dropped in London after the U.S. Senate rejected a bailout plan for carmakers, threatening to deepen a global recession and sap demand for the metal used mainly in autocatalysts to cut exhaust fumes. Gold also fell. Commodities and stocks slid after senators voted down a bill to provide $14 billion of emergency funds for General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC, which may run out of cash early next year. Automakers make up about a half of world platinum and palladium demand, according to estimates by Johnson Matthey Plc. “The news of the bailout failure is bearish for platinum group metals,” Walter de Wet, an analyst at Standard Bank Ltd. in Johannesburg, said by phone today. Platinum for immediate delivery lost as much as $28.50, or 3.4 percent, to $807.50 an ounce and traded at $824.50 by 9:03 a.m. London time. The metal has plunged 46 percent this year. Auto sales in the U.S. dropped 37 percent in November from a year earlier, with cars and light trucks sold at the lowest annual rate in 26 years. A report yesterday showed initial jobless claims in the country surged to a 26-year high. Gold slipped from its highest in more than two weeks. Bullion for immediate delivery declined $2.74, or 0.3 percent, to $818.61 an ounce in London. Futures for December were $8, or 1 percent, lower at $816.90 in electronic trading on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Bullion is still heading for its biggest weekly gain since September as the dollar weakened against the euro, boosting gold’s appeal as an alternative investment to the U.S. currency. The dollar today snapped two days of declines against the euro. Among other metals for immediate delivery, silver lost 1.1 percent to $10.24 an ounce and palladium was $3.75, or 2.1 percent, lower at $177.25 an ounce. To contact the reporter on this story: Nicholas Larkin in London at nlarkin1@bloomberg.net

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