Platinum Rises to Six-Month High on China Car Sales, Stocks
By Jae Hur
April 13 (Bloomberg) -- Platinum advanced for a fifth day to the highest in more than six months as a rally in equity markets and rising auto sales in China increased speculation that demand may gain. Gold climbed for a second day.
Asian stocks rose after posting the fifth straight weekly gain, the longest streak since February 2007, after Japan proposed a $153 billion stimulus package. China’s passenger car sales reached a record in March, boosting demand prospects for platinum and palladium used in catalyst converters for vehicle pollution-control devices.
“Platinum is underpinned by strong car sales in China and recent rallies in global equity markets,” Shuji Sugata, research manager at Mitsubishi Corp. Futures & Securities Ltd., said today. Platinum was also supported by speculation that a potential new exchange-traded fund will increase demand, he said.
Platinum for immediate delivery advanced as much as 2.9 percent to $1,246.75 an ounce, the highest level since Sept. 23, and was at $1,246.25 at 12:57 p.m. Singapore time. The metal rose 4.6 percent last week, the fourth straight weekly advance. Platinum gained 33 percent this year.
Palladium for immediate delivery was up 1.4 percent at $238.50 an ounce, taking its gain this year to 28 percent.
China’s passenger car sales rose 10 percent in March from a year earlier to a record 772,400, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said April 9. Demand for minivans surged 40 percent last month in China as the government began giving out 5 billion yuan in subsidies to help rural residents buy vans and light trucks.
Equities Gain
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed as much as 0.9 percent to 88.72, the highest intraday level since Jan. 13, after rising 1.5 percent last week. Some investors buy platinum as an alternative to stocks, bonds and currencies.
In Tokyo, some investors have been shifting money to platinum futures from gold and crude oil for higher returns, Kazuhiko Saito, an analyst at Tokyo-based commodity broker Fujitomi Co., said.
Platinum for February delivery rose as much as 2.7 percent to 4,032 yen per gram ($1,248 an ounce), the highest since Sept. 26, on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange and was at 4,027 yen by 2:01 p.m. local time. Gold for February delivery gained 0.5 percent to 2,883 yen per gram.
Gold for immediate delivery added 0.8 percent to $888.99 an ounce at 1:03 p.m. Singapore time after dropping 1.3 percent last week in the third weekly decline. Silver rose 1.3 percent to $12.525 an ounce.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jae Hur in Singapore at jhur1@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: April 13, 2009 01:52 EDT
