Platinum Futures Slump as Credit Crunch May Damp Auto Demand
Platinum futures in Tokyo dropped, snapping a two-day winning streak, as a global slowdown cuts demand for cars and the metal used in emissions control systems.

Platinum has sunk 21 percent this month in Tokyo as losses in credit investments at U.S. financial institutions triggered a credit freeze, damping global economic expansion. Output at Honda Motor Co., Japan's second-largest carmaker, fell 4.8 percent to 295,541 vehicles in August, led by a 10.2 percent drop in the U.S., the company said today in a statement.

''Concerns about economic growth and the slowdown in vehicle sales have weighed upon platinum prices over the past few weeks,'' Amrita Sen, an analyst at Barclays Capital, wrote in a report dated yesterday.

Platinum for August delivery declined 3.2 percent, to 4,026 yen a gram ($1,182 an ounce) at the 11 a.m. break on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange.

Metal for immediate delivery gained $4 to $1,206 an ounce at 11:54 a.m. in Tokyo, 0.3 percent higher than yesterday in New York.

Platinum consumption by automakers accounts for more than 60 percent of global demand for the metal, according to Johnson Matthey Plc, which makes about a third of the world's automobile catalysts.




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