Expert Views2 Jan 2017 15:35
"Given stronger industrial metals prices, it is surprising that platinum prices have weakened as much as they have.
November EU passenger vehicle registrations rebounded, rising 5.8%, having been flat in October. This has removed one concern – following October’s data, it did look as though the EU auto market may be slowing down. Growth, however, was seen in all major EU markets in November. In the first eleven months of the year, registrations were up 7.1%.
Generally strong auto data seems to have been ignored in the second half of the year, with poor jewellery uptake and the gold price weighing on sentiment.
Another bullish feature is that South Africa’s PGM output fell 12% in the year ending October 2016, according to Statistics South Africa.
We still see platinum as underpriced at these levels. Given a depressed jewellery market, it may take a recovery here before sentiment turns brighter. A pick-up in economic activity may well bode well for jewellery demand down the road. China is the biggest consumer of platinum jewellery – a turnaround in China’s economic outlook may feed through to more spending on luxury items (in time)."