Platinum rose a second day, widening its premium to gold to a 17-month high, on concern supply may fall after Zimbabwe seized land from the country’s top miner of the metal. Palladium reached the highest since September 2011. Zimbabwe, the third-biggest platinum producer in 2011, repossessed about 69,000 acres of land from Zimplats Holdings Ltd. to offer to new investors, Mines Minister Obert Mpofu said yesterday. The country is the fifth-largest palladium miner. Platinum is up 12 percent this year as Anglo American Platinum Ltd., the biggest producer, said last month it plans to cut output. “Platinum’s supply story certainly deserves ample attention,� Joni Teves, an analyst at UBS AG in London, wrote today in a report. “Support from both the investor and speculative community is needed in order for gold to stage a convincing recovery from here.� Platinum for immediate delivery rose 0.3 percent to $1,723 an ounce by 9:32 a.m. in London. It reached $1,742.80 on Feb. 7, the highest since Sept. 22, 2011. Futures for delivery in April gained 0.4 percent to $1,724.30 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures trading volume was 8 percent lower than the average in the past 100 days for this time of day. Most Asian markets are closed for the Lunar New Year. One ounce of platinum bought as much as 1.0479 ounces of gold in London today, the most since August 2011, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Palladium Price Palladium added 0.1 percent to $773.08 an ounce in London, after reaching $775.26, the highest since Sept. 5, 2011. It is mined alongside platinum and both are used mainly in car pollution control devices. China’s passenger-vehicle sales surged 49 percent to a monthly record in January, the state- backed China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said Feb. 7. “Palladium’s exposure to emerging market economies, specifically China, makes for a rather compelling demand story as global economic outlooks continue to perk up,� UBS’s Teves said. Gold lost 0.3 percent to $1,646.88 an ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index, a measure against six currencies, was little changed after reaching a one-month high yesterday. A stronger greenback can curb demand for bullion as an alternative investment. Silver fell 0.4 percent to $30.9853 an ounce. To contact the reporters on this story: Nicholas Larkin in London at nlarkin1@bloomberg.net; Glenys Sim in Singapore at gsim4@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Claudia Carpenter at ccarpenter2@bloomberg.net

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