Platinum Group Metals Price Bulletin - 16th January 2012 to 20th January 2012

Johnson Matthey London Base Prices at 0800 hrs, $/oz:

	Pt	Pd	Rh
Monday 16th January	1492	641	1375
Tuesday 17th January	1527	655	1375
Wednesday 18th January	1519	654	1375
Thursday 19th January	1532	671	1375
Friday 20th January	1522	678	1375

The pgm complex remained fairly quiet this week as physical buying was subdued in the run-up to the Chinese New Year holiday next week, when a good deal of physical demand is expected to be absent from the market. Platinum traded in a fairly narrow range while palladium performed better.

Platinum

Platinum was a little defensive this week as markets responded to news from the biggest producers, including a surprise resignation by Impala Platinum’s CEO. Meanwhile, Anglo American Platinum warned of a drop in 2011 earnings per share by around a third owing to the costs of a black empowerment deal as well as lower production and cost inflation, emphasising the challenges to the South African mining sector of high costs and prevailing low prices.

Palladium

Palladium outperformed platinum in its upward movement this week, benefitting partly from supply concerns as the CEO of Norilsk Nickel, the world’s biggest palladium miner, said that he expects the company to reduce production this year due to a slight fall in global metal demand. In the next 15 years, Norilsk wants to increase production of pgm by 90%.

Rhodium

With continued buying interest from Asia and Europe, rhodium firmed by $25 on Monday to reach a new JM Base Price of $1,375.

Johnson Matthey,
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