Spot platinum declined sharply on Wednesday as the prospect of a major platinum mining strike in South Africa faded with the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) postponing its strike at Anglo Platinum, analysts said.
At 10.45am, platinum was quoted at $848/oz, down $25,50/oz from Tuesday’s New York close.
“It seems there was a lot of selling on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange today, following the news that the strike in South Africa had been postponed or even averted,” London-based analyst for UBS John Reade said.
Platinum continues to get support from strong base metals; however, Reade said he saw the current metal cycle coming to an end soon and in the case of platinum, he sees declining Chinese demand and increased South African supply putting platinum prices under pressure in the future.
“I see platinum substantially lower in 2005,” Reade said.
The NUM postponed its strike at AngloPlat’s operations, while it consulted it members on AngloPlat’s latest offer, said NUM Deputy Secretary General Archie Palane on Wednesday.
AngloPlat had previously offered a wage increase, effective from July 1, 2004, of 7% with a 0,5% service increase, while NUM is seeking an increase of 9%.
However, Palane said he didn’t want to disclose what AngloPlat’s latest offer was, until NUM’s members had been consulted. Between about 2am and 3am, NUM will know whetherAngloPlat’s offer has been rejected or accepted, Palane said.
“I can’t divulge what the new offer to the NUM is, until NUM has consulted its members,” AngloPlat spokesperson Mike Mtakati said.
Implats didn’t increase it offer on Tuesday and the strike at the group’s operations is scheduled to start from 2am, Palane added. Implats is offering a wage increase of 7,5%, while NUM is demanding an increase of 8,5%.
NUM and Implats representatives will be meeting at 10am on Wednesday to try and come to an agreement, Palane said. – I-Net Bridge