Precious metals buyers push platinum to five-month high amid mine strike
Precious metals buyers pushed platinum prices to their highest point in five months on February 22, as the markets responded to news of plummeting supplies from the world's second-largest platinum producer.
Prices for the metal rose to $1,705.50 an ounce, which was their highest point since September 22, according to Kuwait Times. Spot platinum was trading 0.4 percent higher at $1,690.99 an ounce.
Impala Platinum, which is the second largest producer of the precious metal in the world, has told its clients that its April platinum volumes will be half as much as usual due to a labor strike, Reuters reports. Over the past few weeks, the company has lost 80,000 ounces worth of platinum that could have been produced due to a lack of miners. Close to 20,000 workers were let go earlier in February as a result of miners engaging in illegal strike activities.
The company's facility had enough supplies to process platinum group metals for at least four months, and it lost about a month's worth of production, according to the media outlet. Therefore, precious metals buyers expect that the strike will undermine supplies in about three months.
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