World Platinum Investment Council : Platinum Quarterly Montag, 14. Mai 2018 - 07:19

Today we publish our fifteenth Platinum Quarterly data set, which examines activity in the first quarter of 2018 and a revised forecast for the full year 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, and an insight on platinum demand fundamentals, including further insights on automaker switching considerations from palladium to platinum in gasoline vehicles. It also contains a brief overview of our product partnership activities and our recent partnership with the Athletics World Cup. 

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

• Supply will tighten in 2018 compared to 2017, with South African mine supply falling in Q1 to its lowest level since 2016.
• Global demand for platinum is forecast to be marginally up for the year, despite a dip in total global automotive demand, with growth in commercial vehicles insufficient to offset lower demand from passenger cars.
• These shifts will contribute to a reduction in the level of overall surplus for the year, down to 180 koz from a revised surplus figure of 315 koz in 2017. Q1 2018 was in deficit by 125 koz.
• Global demand for platinum jewellery is predicted to climb by 2% in 2018. This will be powered by strong global economic growth, continued demand from India and efforts to target Millennials in China.
• An increase in industrial demand (+60 koz) is expected to be fuelled by requirements from the petroleum industry, with use in refining up, led by the recovery in Japan.
• Investment demand is predicted to stay at 250 koz in 2018. Demand in the first quarter of the year was buoyed by strong bar and coin sales, helped by the release of the US Mint’s bullion and proof platinum American Eagle coins.

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.