BLBG: Platinum Falls as Carmaker Demand May Weaken; Palladium Steady
Platinum fell to a two-week low in New York on speculation that automakers, the biggest users of the metal, may buy less as car sales decline. Palladium was little changed.
U.K. auto sales show no sign of a recovery, the country’s main industry group said. Registrations fell 31 percent last month and “it’s not looking any better in April,” Paul Everitt, head of the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders, said in an interview. U.S. auto sales tumbled 37 percent in March. Most platinum and palladium is used in car parts.
“The fundamentals still remain weak overall from the auto sector,” Miguel Perez-Santalla, a sales vice president at Heraeus Precious Metals Management in New York, said in an e- mailed note.
Platinum futures for July delivery fell $11.10, or 1 percent, to $1,156 an ounce at 10:20 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier, the price touched $1,153, the lowest for a most-active contract since April 7. Before today, the platinum dropped 44 percent in the past 12 months.
Palladium futures for June delivery slipped 10 cents to $225.90 an ounce on Nymex. Before today, the most-active contract has plunged 52 percent in the past year.
Both metals climbed earlier on speculation that investment demand may rise, Perez-Santalla suggested.
On April 2, a unit of ETF Securities Ltd. registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to offer bullion- backed platinum and palladium trusts, fueling speculation that investment demand for the metal will rise. Absa Group Ltd., the South African bank controlled by Barclays Plc, said last week that it may start a platinum-linked exchange-traded fund later this year.
ETF Assets
Platinum assets in the Zuercher Kantonalbank’s exchange- traded fund rose to 170,322 ounces from 167,206 ounces as of April 17 from a week earlier, and palladium investment fell to 556,906 ounces from 557,124 ounces, figures e-mailed today from Zurich-based ZKB show.
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 and in dentistry.
