Prices drifted lower on Monday as Chinese investors took advantage of last week’s price rises and took profit following their return from New Year celebrations. Platinum and palladium dipped mid-week as the eurozone announced its highest ever collective unemployment rate, but recovered sufficiently to break the $1,600 and $700 levels respectively. Prices were underpinned by fears over supply constraints as the illegal strike at Impala continued and Norilsk Nickel forecast a fall in production this year.

Platinum
Impala Platinum's Rustenburg operations remained closed due to strike action this week as other workers joined rock drill operators in an illegal walk-out. The company sacked 13,000 workers involved in the strikes on Thursday, bringing the total number of dismissals to 17,200 with the workers allowed to re-apply for their jobs. Adding to concerns on the supply side, Aquarius Platinum reported previous quarter-on-quarter pgm production had decreased by 4%.

Palladium
Buoyed by a strong start to the year in terms of US car sales, and with speculative investment interest returning in recent weeks, palladium finally broke through the $700 level for the first time since September 2011. Palladium also found some support from news that Norilsk Nickel projects 2012 palladium output as flat to declining.

Rhodium
Rhodium gained another $50 this week to reach a new Johnson Matthey Base Price of $1,475.