World Platinum Investment Council: Platinum Quarterly Dienstag, 21. November 2017 - 07:15

Today we publish our thirteenth Platinum Quarterly data set, which examines activity in the third quarter and the full year 2017, as well as a first outlook for 2018. Independent analysis is provided by our research partners SFA (Oxford).

The Foreword to the report provides an overview of changing investor approaches to the platinum market, an insight on platinum demand fundamentals and a brief overview of our market development activities.

Key data from the study, which can be downloaded here, includes:

• A deficit of 275 koz is expected in 2018, further reducing the availability of Above Ground Stocks.
• Overall demand for platinum is forecast to increase by 2% in 2018 compared to the full year 2017.
• Supply is predicted to fall by 1%, due in part to a 2% reduction in South African mine supply as closures announced in the second half of 2017 annualise.
• The global platinum jewellery market is predicted to recover by 3% in 2018, buoyed by double-digit growth in the rapidly expanding Indian market, with demand from China currently expected to stabilise. 2018 is predicted to see the first annual increase in jewellery demand since 2014.
• After a tough 2017, Industrial demand is expected to rebound by 9% in 2018, largely driven by increasing demand from the petroleum and glass sectors.
• Global automotive demand is expected to remain largely stable, down 1% over 2017, with growth in auto sales in Germany, Spain and Italy being offset by a fall in the UK.
• Recycling supply is predicted to increase by 2%, however, the report warns that the increasing complexity of autocatalysts is making recovery of the metal increasingly tough.
• Investment demand is predicted to remain flat at 250 koz for 2018, in line with a conservative approach to assessing future demand from the sector.

We hope you find this quarter’s report supportive to your efforts to assess and better understand the platinum market, and ultimately make better informed investment decisions. As always, we welcome your thoughts regarding additional insights and research that the WPIC can instigate in the coming months.