Platinum Gains for Third Day as Japan, China Equities Rally

By Jae Hur

Nov. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Platinum advanced for a third day as equities in Japan and China gained and investors shrugged off a report that a carmaker will introduce a catalyst that halves the use of the precious metal in auto emission filters.

China's stock index rose on speculation the government is widening the scope of its aid to industries to prop up its economies. Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose as much as 3.6 percent. Nissan Motor Co., Japan's third-largest automaker, said Nov. 14 that it will introduce a catalyst that uses less platinum in its Cube model from Nov. 19.

``Investors appeared to have been covering their bets on a price fall as the market did not take the Nissan news that seriously,'' Shuji Sugata, research manager at Mitsubishi Corp. Futures & Securities Ltd. in Tokyo, said today by phone.

Immediate-delivery platinum rose as much as 3.3 percent to $868 an ounce and was at $861 at 2:02 p.m. in Tokyo. Palladium for immediate delivery was up 1.7 percent at $220.75 an ounce.

Spot platinum prices have slumped 44 percent this year as sales at carmakers, the biggest users of the metal, plummeted following rising unemployment and tighter consumer lending.

Nissan said Nov. 14 it will cut its domestic production by an additional 72,000 units by March because of slowing global auto demand. The Tokyo-based company on Oct. 31 said it plans to cut global output by more than 200,000 vehicles by March 31.

Domestic Market

Nissan's new catalyst, which will be produced for the domestic market, was developed under the Renault-Nissan Alliance, and future applications will include vehicles produced by Renault SA and diesel engines as well as potential for non-automotive uses, the Japanese company said.

``We continue to diminish the importance of this news as it represents yet another example of thrifting in autocatalysts, something that the industry has been busy with for many years,'' John Reade, an analyst at UBS AG in London, said in a note dated Nov. 14.Japanese carmakers use more platinum than their competitors and the news may represent a catch-up, he said.

Automakers account for more than 60 percent of global platinum consumption, according to estimates by Johnson Matthey Plc, a London-based metals refiner, trader and researcher.

Platinum for October delivery was up 1.8 percent at 2,676 yen a gram ($855 an ounce) at 2:02 p.m. local time after trading between 2,540 yen and 2,719 yen on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jae Hur in Singapore at jhur1@bloomberg.net