Platinum plunged the most in more than a month and palladium fell, following other industrial materials, as demand prospects dimmed with a rally in the dollar and more job cuts at automaker General Motors Corp. The euro fell to less than $1.30 for the first time in a month on bets that European Central Bank leaders can’t agree on steps to combat the recession. Detroit-based GM, the biggest U.S. carmaker, plans to fire 1,600 salaried workers this week. U.S. government loans of $13.4 billion are helping the company stave off bankruptcy. Some investors buy platinum and palladium, mostly used in auto parts, to hedge their currency holdings. “The stronger dollar seems to be having more of a bearish influence” on prices of most industrial metals, Edward Meir, an analyst at MF Global Ltd. in Darien, Connecticut, said today in a report. A “less-than-inspiring macro backdrop” is also affecting metal prices, he said. Platinum futures for July delivery fell $44.50, or 3.7 percent, to $1,167.10 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the biggest decline since March 3. The most-active contract has tumbled 44 percent in the past 12 months. Palladium futures for June delivery dropped $7.55, or 3.2 percent, to $226 an ounce on Nymex, the biggest decline since Feb. 23. The most-active contract has plunged 52 percent in the past year. “The correction from the recent overheated run into noble metals did not come as a surprise to too many,” Jon Nadler, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc. in Montreal, said in an e-mailed comment. “We had expressed concern that fund plays in platinum were disconnected from poor auto-sales reality (save for China’s fairly robust numbers) and from the general economic malaise that continues to plague the globe.” Obama ‘Sees Problems’ “President Obama said that he still sees problems in the U.S. economy,” Nadler said. “That said, who is going to go out and load up on an industrial metal in a big way at this juncture? You got it. Speculative funds, whose short-term profit objectives may have already been achieved in the white metals.” GM boosted sales in China 38 percent last month, while the recession drove the company’s U.S. sales down 45 percent. The company is working with U.S. Treasury officials to restructure and avoid bankruptcy. About half of platinum and palladium consumption is for emissions-control parts for cars and trucks, according to Johnson Matthey Plc, a London-based researcher and metal refiner. The metals also are used by jewelry makers. The dollar climbed as much as 1.2 percent against the euro, which traded at $1.2918 at 1:45 p.m. in New York, the first time it has been below $1.30 since March 18.

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