BLBG:Platinum Trades Near 17-Week High on Concern Supplies Will Fall
Platinum traded near a 17-week high in London on concern supplies will fall from mines in South Africa, which account for about 73 percent of global production. Gold was little changed.
The platinum industry is in crisis, Anglo American Plc (AAL) Chief Executive Officer Cynthia Carroll said in Cape Town, South Africa today. Her company controls Anglo American Platinum Ltd. (AMS), the biggest producer, which reported a loss for 2012 yesterday as production of the refined metal dropped. South Africa mined 4.25 million ounces of platinum last year, according to Johnson Matthey Plc.
“The situation in South Africa is giving a hand, and supply will be very challenging for platinum-group metals,” Bernard Sin, head of currency and metal trading at bullion refiner MKS (Switzerland) SA in Geneva, said today by phone. “Industrial demand has shown some positive signs.”
Platinum for immediate delivery was up 0.1 percent at $1,699.35 an ounce by 9:42 a.m. in London. It reached $1,708.19 yesterday, the highest since Oct. 9. Futures for delivery in April added 0.2 percent to $1,699.65 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Platinum traded above gold in London in January for the first time since April and is now at a premium of about $25.
Gold imports into mainland China from Hong Kong almost doubled to an all-time high last year. Mainland China imported 834,502 kilograms (834.5 metric tons), including scrap and coins, compared with about 431,215 kilograms in 2011, according to Bloomberg calculations based on data from the Census and Statistics Department of the Hong Kong government.
Gold for immediate delivery was little changed at $1,674.61 an ounce. Holdings in gold-backed exchange-traded products gained 2 metric tons to 2,614.8 tons yesterday, about 0.7 percent below the Dec. 20 record, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Still, prices have lagged gains for other precious metals this year.
Palladium fell 0.4 percent to $754.28 an ounce, after climbing to $761.99 yesterday, the highest since September 2011. The metal is typically found alongside platinum and both are mostly used in pollution-control devices in cars. Silver added 0.2 percent to $31.8137 an ounce.
To contact the reporter for this story: Nicholas Larkin in London at nlarkin1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Claudia Carpenter at ccarpenter2@bloomberg.net
