NEW YORK/LONDON — Platinum headed for its longest run of quarterly losses in 18 years on Tuesday amid concern that demand is waning just as mine supply rebounds. The price of platinum has slumped every quarter since June last year, when miners ended a five-month strike in SA, the world’s largest supplier. The slump extended into this year as slowing European car sales dimmed the outlook for the metal, which is used in pollution-control devices. Mine output was set to gain this year amid plentiful inventories, CPM Group said in a June 23 report, just as Greece’s debt crisis magnifies demand concerns. "The fundamentals are not that great," David Meger, the director of metal trading at High Ridge Futures in Chicago, said in a telephone interview. "The supply situation is improving, but demand has not been strong. Also, the financial turmoil in Europe is a negative for these precious metals." Platinum futures for October delivery declined 0.3% to $1,078.60/oz on Monday on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The metal is down for a fourth consecutive quarter in the longest run of losses since March 1997. Prices touched $1,060.20 on June 22, a six-year low. "We have seen a recovery in South African production after strikes last year, but demand hasn’t been spectacular," said Robin Bhar, an analyst at Société Générale in London. "There are a lot of headwinds for these metals."

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