There are hopes that platinum could once again be used to make autocatalytic converters for petrol-powered engines, creating fresh demand for the metal amid a deepening supply deficit. The latest report from the World Platinum Investment Council said anecdotal feedback from the automotive industry was that makers of the antipollution devices were considering limited substitution of palladium with platinum. The council was set up in 2014 by six of SA’s platinum miners to boost metal demand. One scenario mapped out by the council was for demand of 500,000oz of platinum if 20% of North American and 5% of European palladium use was switched to platinum, said council CE Paul Wilson. This could be about three years in the future, but autocatalyst makers hedged their metal supply three years into the future, he said. The market deficit of supply against demand will enter a sixth consecutive year in 2018, deepening from a near balance of just 15,000oz short in 2017 to a deep 275,000oz. A bi...
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