Price fall adds to long-suffering platinum industry’s woes
The long-suffering platinum industry was dealt another blow this week when the metal price hit its lowest level in a decade as investors fled commodities. South African producers Impala Platinum and Lonmin have already embarked on major restructuring and job cuts in the face of persistently low platinum prices in recent months. But since Monday the price slipped below $800/oz, a level last seen in 2008, after US President Donald Trump imposed sanctions against Turkey. This action did not just affect the lira, but emerging-market currencies in general as well as commodity prices. By Wednesday platinum was trading at $760/oz. The lower platinum price will put pressure on SA’s already stretched producers, which sell the metal at the dollar price. Liberum mining analyst Ben Davis said the situation is helped by the accompanying rand weakness and the strength in the price of rhodium, a by-product of platinum mining that is in high demand.
The rand, which weakened with other emergin...
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