Translated material
Platinum is rising sharply in price
The market is expecting a shortage of precious metals
Platinum prices yesterday on world exchanges, including the main one in London, reached a record high and during trading exceeded the historical maximum - $1.4 thousand per troy ounce. The main reason for such rapid growth (within one trading day, platinum rose in price by 12%) most experts cite the market's reaction to information about the upcoming launch of a specialized fund for trading platinum - Exchange Trades Funds (ETF). The creation of the fund could increase the demand and shortage of metal, which, according to recently published data from the British expert bureau Johnson Matthey, will already amount to more than half a ton in 2006.Experts did not expect the price of platinum to fall in the near future, since producers were unable to eliminate the shortage. Although this year a record increase in platinum production is expected - by 5.3%, to 217.7 tons, mainly due to increased production in South Africa. However, a significant portion of the additional metal will be absorbed by the growing production of autocatalysts. Against the backdrop of the growing popularity of diesel cars, many countries are tightening environmental legislation - to reduce harmful emissions into the atmosphere, governments are requiring automakers to install filters and catalysts on cars, the main material for the production of which, as a rule, is platinum. Already this year in Europe, more than half of the cars produced will be equipped with diesel engines; in addition to traditional oxidation catalysts, many will also have platinum catalytic soot filters installed. Demand for platinum from the automotive industry, according to Johnson Matthey, will increase by 17.4 tons, to 136.2 tons. Next year, growth will obviously continue. At the same time, the demand for platinum is growing in other industries, mainly in the chemical, electrical, and oil refining industries.
All this cannot but stir up the interest of funds that are not averse to speculating on the metal shortage. The creation of a specialized fund for exchange-traded platinum trading could aggravate the situation. According to the vice-president of the Swiss group MKS Finance, Frederic Panizzutti, the creation of ETFs will further limit the supply of platinum, making investments in this metal more affordable, and thus there will be less physical metal in circulation.
Johnson Matthey predicted a price of $980-$1,200 per troy ounce in the next six months. However, given yesterday's surge, it can be assumed that platinum will be more expensive.
This year it was a similar story with rising silver prices. At the beginning of the year, in terms of price growth, it was ahead of other precious metals, and the increase was due precisely to the expectation of the creation of a specialized fund for trading silver.
The market for non-ferrous metals will continue to grow - the cycle of global increase in their value has not ended, the current prices of copper, zinc and nickel are higher than historical averages, according to a review published yesterday by the American Citigroup. The reason is China's rapidly growing economy in the absence of an adequate increase in supply on the market. Citigroup raises its forecast for aluminum prices next year to $1.075 per pound, up 7.5% from its previous estimate; nickel - by 16%, to $11 per pound; zinc - by 67%, up to $2 per pound.