Platinum and palladium dominated global precious metals this week as a breakthrough in the five-month-long South African miners’ strike finally happened last weekend. It was initially reported by Reuters that the Association of Mine Workers and Construction (AMCU) had agreed in principle, to an offer from top three producers Lonmin, Anglo American and Impala platinum. While there is a wage agreement, talks are continuing about other issues and no return agreement has been struck yet.
Platinum and palladium saw price declines as stockpiles that industrial users built up before the strike were finally drying up.
The week’s biggest mover on the weekly Global Precious Metals MMI® was the price of US palladium bar, which saw a 3.5 percent decline to $810.00 per ounce. This comes on the heels of a 1.0 percent increase the week before. Chinese palladium bar fell 1.6 percent over the past week to CNY 186.00 ($29.94) per gram. Japanese palladium bar prices held steady from the previous week at JPY 2,759 ($27.06) per gram.
In the past week, Japanese platinum bar saw its price shift up 1.2 percent to JPY 4,847 ($47.53) per gram. The price of US platinum bar fell 0.4 percent to $1,435 per ounce after rising 0.6 percent the week before. The price of Chinese platinum bar fell 0.3 percent over the past week to CNY 309.00 ($49.74) per gram. This was the third week in a row of declining prices.
Indian gold bullion saw its price rise 2.0 percent over the past week to INR 26,362 ($441.50) per 10 grams. US gold bullion prices ticked up 1.8 percent over the past week to $1,276 per ounce. The price of Chinese gold bullion rose 0.9 percent to CNY 254.05 ($40.90) per gram after falling 0.4 percent during the previous week. Following a 0.2 percent increase, Japanese gold bullion finished the week at JPY 4,140 ($40.60) per gram.
US silver rose 3.0 percent over the past week to $19.68 per ounce. The price of Indian silver rose 2.7 percent to INR 41,311 ($691.85) per kilogram after falling 0.8 percent during the previous week. The price of Chinese silver rose 1.0 percent to CNY 4,110 ($661.65) per kilogram after falling 2.2 percent during the previous week. Japanese silver gained a slight 0.5 percent this past week, finishing at JPY 630.00 ($6.18) per 10 grams.
The Global Precious Metals MMI® collects and weights 14 global precious metal price points to provide a unique view into precious metal price trends. For more information on the Global Precious Metals MMI®, how it’s calculated or how your company can use the index, please drop us a note at: info (at) agmetalminer (dot) com.