By Kim Kyoungwha
Jan. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Bank of America-Merrill Lynch raised its 2010 forecasts for platinum and palladium on stronger demand and the introduction of exchange-traded funds for the metals.
The forecast for platinum was raised 35 percent to $1,750 an ounce, while palladium was increased 30 percent to $500, Michael Widmer, London-based metals strategist, wrote in a report yesterday. Platinum and palladium may average $2,000 an ounce and $650 an ounce over 2011 respectively, the report said.
“The recent launch of platinum and palladium ETFs in the U.S. is a key reason behind our upgrades,” Widmer said. “We believe that assets under management at these two investment vehicles could rise significantly.”
The ETFS Platinum Trust and ETFS Palladium Trust started trading on the NYSE Arca stock exchange on Jan. 8, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The funds are backed by physical metal, according to notices on the Web site of ETF Securities Ltd.
The metal held in ETF Securities Ltd.’s exchange-traded commodities products rose 2.6 percent to a record 679,938 ounces on Jan. 15, according to the Web site. Platinum and palladium are used mainly in pollution-control devices in automobiles.
Platinum for immediate delivery rose as much as 1.3 percent to $1,643.75 an ounce, the highest price since Aug. 4, 2008, and traded at $1,635.22 at 12:53 p.m. in Singapore. Palladium climbed 0.8 percent to $462.25 an ounce.
To contact the reporter on this story: Kyoungwha Kim in Singapore at Kkim19@bloomberg.net
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