Platinum climbed to a 16-month high in London, extending its premium over gold, as investor holdings reached a record on concern that supplies will fall from mines in South Africa, which account for about 73 percent of global production. Bullion fell. Holdings in exchange traded-products backed by platinum expanded 1 percent to a record 51.5 metric tons yesterday, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The platinum industry is in crisis, Anglo American Plc Chief Executive Officer Cynthia Carroll said yesterday. The company’s platinum unit, the largest producer, last month proposed the halt of four mine shafts that would cut about 7 percent of global production. “That’s going to put some pressure on above-ground stocks and scrap supply and it’s going to add to the mine-supply deficit,� Nick Trevethan, an analyst at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd., said by phone from Singapore. Platinum output will drop 2.7 percent this year, leaving a 256,000-ounce shortage, Barclays Plc estimates. Platinum for immediate delivery rose 1.2 percent to $1,730.15 an ounce by 10:01 a.m. in London. In earlier trade it rose to $1,736.07, the highest price since Sept. 22, 2011. Prices are up for a fourth consecutive day. Futures for delivery in April gained 1.4 percent to $1,730.60 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Palladium rose 0.3 percent t0 $768.22 an ounce, after reaching $769.30, the highest since Sept. 5, 2011. The metal is typically found alongside platinum and both are mostly used in pollution-control devices in cars. Platinum’s Premium One ounce of platinum bought as many as 1.0287 ounces of gold today, the most since August 2011, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Platinum gained 12 percent this year on mounting confidence nations from China to the U.S. are leading a global economic recovery. Gold fell 0.3 percent this year. Gold for immediate delivery lost 0.1 percent to $1,670.95 an ounce in London today. Gold futures for April delivery fell 0.1 percent to $1,671.60 an ounce on the Comex in New York. Imports of gold into mainland China from Hong Kong rose 94 percent to a record last year. Mainland China imported 834,502 kilograms (834.5 tons), including scrap and coins, up from about 431,215 kilograms in 2011, Bloomberg calculations based on data yesterday from the Census and Statistics Department of the Hong Kong government show. The import data, alongside “persistently strong� volumes on the Shanghai Gold Exchange and elevated premiums in the past couple of weeks, indicate a “robust demand story� in China, UBS AG said in a report today. “This strength can be mainly attributed to seasonal factors, with the start of the Lunar New Year holidays only a few days away,� London-based UBS analyst Joni Teves wrote in the report. Silver fell 0.4 percent to $31.6875 an ounce in London. To contact the reporters for this story: Nicholas Larkin in London at nlarkin1@bloomberg.net; Phoebe Sedgman in Melbourne at psedgman2@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Claudia Carpenter at ccarpenter2@bloomberg.net

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