Platinum and palladium fell in New York on concern that demand for the metals from jewelers, carmakers and other users will decline further after December U.S. retail sales dropped twice as much as forecast. Retail sales sank 2.7 percent from November, a record sixth straight monthly drop, the Commerce Department reported today in Washington. Purchases excluding automobiles slumped 3.1 percent, and sales for the year slipped 0.1 percent, the first decline since at least 1992. Most platinum and palladium is consumed in making jewelry and catalytic converters for cars and trucks. “The U.S. consumer is out cold, job gone, wallet empty,” Jon Nadler, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc. in Montreal, said today in a note to clients. Platinum futures for April delivery fell $7.10, or 0.7 percent, to $948.90 an ounce at 10:12 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The most-active contract has declined 5.6 percent this week. “It seems to be nothing but bad news as the house of cards that had appeared to have collapsed is still in the process,” Miguel Perez-Santalla, a sales vice president at Heraeus Precious Metals Management in New York, said today in an e- mailed note. “Retail sales came out this morning worse than expected, adding fuel to the fire.” Platinum was still up 1.5 percent this year before today, and climbed 27 percent from a nearly five-year low of $752.10 an ounce on Oct. 27. The most-active contract plunged 38 percent last year, ending six years of gains, as annual U.S. auto sales tumbled to the fewest since 1992. Palladium Palladium futures for March delivery dropped $3.50, or 1.9 percent, to $181.75 an ounce. The most-active contract fell 0.2 percent last week and was down 51 percent in the past year before today. The U.S. auto industry will sell 12 million to 12.5 million vehicles this year, with the first half weaker than the final six months, Mark Fields, Americas president for Dearborn, Michigan-based Ford, said in an interview on Bloomberg Radio on Jan. 12. The total last year was 13.2 million. “On the macro side, there is no evidence that things are getting better, and if anything, they seem to be getting worse,” Edward Meir, an analyst at MF Global Ltd. in Darien, Connecticut, said today in a report. Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd., the world’s second-largest producer of the metal, today abandoned a plan, initially valued at 21.2 billion rand ($2.1 billion), to buy a South African rival after commodity and share prices slumped. “Merger talks between Impala Platinum and Northam Platinum collapsed amid difficult conditions in the global economy, the commodities markets and stock markets,” Nadler said in the note. The deal may be reconsidered if the markets stabilize, David Brown, Impala’s chief executive officer, said in a telephone interview from Johannesburg.

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