Any positive news and this price scenario should attract a lot of attention.
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From "This Week In Platinum, Number 404, March 20th, 1998":
Platinum American Eagle Bullion Coin Sales Surpass 100,000 Ounces. Sales for the Platinum American Eagle bullion coin breached the 100,000 ounce level this week. Original expectations for the bullion issue, not counting proof coin sales, were that it would take twelve months to reach this level. Surpassing everyone's expectations, the 100,000 ounce level was achieved in the 5 1/2 months since the September 23rd launch of the bullion Platinum Eagle last year. Michael B. Kramer, of MTB Bank in New York, placed the record-making order. When asked what his favorite things are about the Platinum Eagle, Mr. Kramer replied "The Platinum Eagle makes a great item for jewelry in the smaller sizes. We've been selling a lot of platinum in the past, with the Canadian Maple Leaf and Australian Koala available for investors. Now the U.S. Mint has put out a domestic version of a platinum bullion coin, and it is doing quite nicely."
Platinum group metals have seen highly active trading this week. A favorable article in Fortune magazine regarding the prospects for fuel cell technology, combined with thinness of supply, pushed the price of platinum up on most days of trading. Platinum prices have regained the level seen before the Asian crisis and sector-wide decline in precious metals prices in late October of last year.
A common point made by those skeptical of fuel cell technology's commercial viability is that "the big oil companies will never allow it." While methanol-using fuel cells might diminish the marketfor petroleum, it is unlikely that methanol-using fuel cells will be used for automobiles, due to the lack of a developed methanol distribution infrastructure. Current plans for fuel cells in cars involve the reforming of gasoline to its simpler hydrocarbon components for use in the fuel cell drive train. Because this plan will involve the use of the existing gasoline distribution infrastructure, it will not only pass the convenience test for consumers, but will also be favorable to the suppliers of petrochemical fuels (according to the ad placed by the Mobil Oil company in The Economist). The fuel reforming process itself, as designed by Arthur D. Little, a consulting firm, will require the use of an additional platinum catalyst. Amplats predicts that fuel cell demand will add some 500,000 ounces per year to demand for platinum by the year 2010.
According to The Wall Street Journal, palladium surged earlier this week as a push for prompt delivery of the metal forced prices higher. "There is a tremendous need for physical metal by someone. We don't know if it's the Swiss or the Japanese, but someone is paying a lot for prompt delivery," said George Gero, senior vice president of investments at Prudential Securities. Mr. Gero told The Wall Street Journal that the majority of buying was conducted by industrial participants,rather than speculative investors. Palladium supplies have been growing tighter as delays in Russian shipments drag on. The market paid little attention to recent statements by a Russian official that supplies would be coming soon.
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DRT |
