China's appetite for jewellery to drive demand for platinum and palladium

摘要

It has become a familiar refrain to report on the effect rapidly increasing Chinese demand is having on the global supply-demand balance for commodities.It is,however perhaps less common to note that,in the case of platinum and palladium,the driver is rising Chinese consumption in jewellery,rather than industrial production.The new report from market analysts Roskill,notes that in 2004,Chinese jewellers purchased some 31-tons of platinum and 22-tons of palladium,representing about 45% and 77% respectively of world platinum group metal demand for jewellery,and almost 12% of world platinum group metal demand.The'Economics of Platinum Group Metals(7th Edition,2005)'forecasts that demand for platinum and palladium is expected to grow by about 3% and 5% per annum respectively up to 2010.