[miningmx.com] – SOUTH Africa does not influence the platinum market as in the past, said BDLive citing Stephen Forrest, a director and chairman of SFA Oxford, a consulting engineering company.
“You’d think such concentrated supply would be enough to secure a significant influence on price, but look closer and it’s clear that South Africa’s mighty market grasp is slipping,” Forrest told the online publication.
However, alternative sources of supply was one of the reasons for the falling influence of South Africa. “Since 2009, South Africa’s platinum supply has fallen from more than 70% of demand to just 50% of demand in 2013. A significant drop indeed,” Forrest said.
“In that time, supply has sprouted up in other places around the world,” he said. “South Africa has been caught short. However you slice it, its influence on price, whether as a result of supply disruptions or higher costs, is reducing.”
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