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Raja (name changed) wouldn’t prefer to buy platinum for his wife. “Who will buy it? It looks like silver. Any day, gold glitters better,” he says.
But not all Indians echo this sentiment. With platinum turning costlier than gold in the global market, demand for the metal is picking up.
The demand for platinum is growing as an investment at least by 30 per cent year-on-year. This is predominantly driven by availability of products such as e-platinum. During the current fiscal, the number of investors in e-platinum, floated in April last year, has gone up 35 per cent, according to Anshuman Purohit, Product In-charge of e-series, National Spot Exchange. From initial sales of 3-4 kg, the exchange sells 10-12 kg now.
According to Samir Shah, Vice-President of RiddiSiddhi Bullions Ltd (a bullion trading company), platinum is becoming a new asset class. It is attracting a lot of retail investors. “With the price gap between gold and platinum widening, people are lapping up platinum, and the market is turning out to be an order-book driven one,” he said.
Since the beginning of this year, gold has dropped nearly 5 per cent, while platinum has gained over 5 per cent. In the global market on Monday, spot gold was quoted at $1,613.17 an ounce and platinum at $1,686.70.
In Chennai, gold currently trades at Rs 2,813 a gram and platinum trades at Rs 3,652. In the last 2-3 years, on several occasions gold had traded above platinum. But since the beginning of this year, the trend has reversed.
The Platinum Guild International attributes the recent increase in platinum price to lower production. The annual supply of platinum is usually about 130 tonnes, which is almost equivalent to 6 per cent (by weight) of the total annual production of gold. That has come down now.
Vaishali Banerjee, Manager-India, Platinum Guild International, says that operationally 2012 was a challenging year for platinum mining industry as a whole. The year had industrial labour unrest and strikes which impacted production and put pressure on the overall supply. All this is linked to the increase in price.
South Africa’s Anglo American Platinum that accounts for over 70 per cent of the global production of platinum reported 12-13 per cent production loss due to labour unrest and inflation.
However, platinum as jewellery is yet to pick up. A leading jeweller in Chennai says women do not consider platinum jewellery as an investment, as its resale value is lower, the discount value being between 15 and 20 per cent. Besides, platinum jewellery is generally being sold as a piece at a particular price, rather than being calculated on per-gram basis – like in gold.
However, Bachhraj Bamalwa, Chairman, All India Gems & Jewellery Trade Federation, says the demand for platinum is gaining ground steadily among the younger generation. Currently, platinum accounts for just 1-2 per cent of jewellery demand.
Now with the recovery in the US automobile sector, prices are expected to harden while that of gold may fall as the US economy recovers, he said.
Shah of RiddiSiddhi Bullion expects the price of platinum to cross Rs 4,000 a gram in the next 18 months.
Navin Mathur, Associate Director (Commodities and Currency), Angel Broking, says the price of platinum, which is largely driven by its demand from the auto sector, is expected to go up with the signs of revival in the US economy, and this will fuel the investment demand for the metal in the months to come.
>suresh.iyengar@thehindu.co.in
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