After hitting 10-year lows in 2018, platinum expected to recover a bit in 2019
Platinum is caught in a speculative sell-off fuelled by a supply surplus, demand concerns due to the threat of a global trade war and a strengthening dollar
London — Platinum prices will average their lowest in more than a decade in 2018 before a modest recovery in 2019, a Reuters poll showed on Friday, with the metal predicted to maintain its historically unusual discount to palladium. Platinum, used chiefly in emissions-cutting catalytic converters in vehicles and in jewellery, has tumbled from more than $1,000 an ounce in January to about $800, its lowest since 2008. It is caught in a speculative sell-off fuelled by a supply surplus, demand concerns due to the threat of a global trade war and a strengthening dollar, which makes metals more expensive for buyers using other currencies. A Reuters poll of 29 analysts and traders returned a forecast for platinum to average $922 in 2018, its seventh consecutive annual decline and lowest annual average since 2005. But in 2019, platinum should snap its losing streak, rising to average $979 and ounce, respondents said. A similar Reuters poll conducted three months ago forecast that platinum w...
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