Platinum Group Metals Price Bulletin - 25th January 2010 to 29th January 2010

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

	Pt	Pd	Rh
Monday 25th January	1560	441	2600
Tuesday 26th January	1530	435	2550
Wednesday 27th January	1521	428	2500
Thursday 28th January	1520	419	2475
Friday 29th January	1511	420	2450

The dollar continued to benefit as a haven from global uncertainty and risk aversion, strengthening further as Chinese banks temporarily suspended new lending in an attempt to rein in the country’s rapid growth. Concern about growth and demand from China, coupled with the stronger dollar, hit commodity prices, gold slipping as low as $1,080.

Platinum

Fundamentals for platinum took a back seat as prices also retreated in the face of the dollar’ resurgence. Nevertheless US platinum ETF positions grew to over 215K oz (although some of this may have been "moved" from the London ETF which has fallen in recent weeks) and Ford announced its first annual profit in four years, while on the supply side, Lonmin announced a Q1 sales decline of 13.6%. Countering this, however, was news of Q2 production increases of 16% by the 5^th largest platinum miner, Aquarius, and Toyota suspending production at several factories around the world following a massive recall of vehicles with sticky accelerator problems.

Palladium

As with other precious metal’s prices it is palladium’s brakes that are stuck, rather than the accelerator, despite the latest US ETF positions showing more than 400K oz invested to date.

Rhodium

Continuing slip lower, offers continued to dominate the rhodium market, exposing the metal’s vulnerability.

Johnson Matthey,
Orchard Road,
Royston,
Hertfordshire SG8 5HE,
United Kingdom