Platinum prices rise after Reuters report

Platinum prices rose after Reuters broke news on August 4 that power sector workers in top producer South Africa planned to strike over pay. Spot platinum, at $1,235 an ounce before the Reuters story, climbed after the news. It hit a high of $1,290 the next day as concerns over the strike intensified. “We’ve seen a lot of speculative buying coming into the market on the back of Eskom news,” said Commerzbank trader Rory McVeigh. The news was watched closely by gold markets given South Africa’s importance as a producer and by currency and stock markets in Africa’s biggest economy. It also raised political concerns for investors.