The platinum market is currently characterised by a tight relationship between supply and demand, according to a Johnson Matthey's Publications Manager.

Dr David Jollie, who authored the Johnson Matthey Platinum Review, said that the impact of production shortfalls for South African platinum miners over the last year has been the principal cause of the reduced supply of platinum, which is "really being challenged".

Meanwhile, demand remains "pretty healthy in a lot of segments", adding that this has been unaffected by the "prospect of the likely recession in North America and possibly elsewhere", Dr Jollie told Moneyweb.com.

However, he did concede that although the credit crunch has had "relatively limited impact" should the financial woes deepen demand would probably be hit and that in particular "it would affect automatic demand for catalysts".

Currently, though, the market is chiefly interested in supply issues, adding that there is a collective "sense of nervousness" as a result of the supply deficits and that analysts "are just sort of wondering if there is anything else that's going to go wrong somewhere".

Source:

Dr David Jollie: Author, Johnson Matthey Platinum Review, 24/01/08
http://www.moneyweb.co.za/mw/view/mw/en/page55?oid=186567&sn=Detail

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