Shares in Impala Platinum (Implats) closed more than 3% lower on Thursday, its biggest fall in about a week, after it reported that ongoing maintenance at its smelters resulted in a decline in the volume of its sales for the six months to end-December.

This has put the world’s third-largest platinum miner on track to miss the market’s full-year earnings expectations, even as analysts remain upbeat about the prospects for platinum group metals (PGM) prices due to high demand from automotive manufacturers seeking to meet vehicle emission targets...