Barclays Still Upbeat On PGMs Despite Tentative South African Wage Deal
Friday June 13, 2014 10:13 AM
As have several other major investment banks, Barclays says it remains longer-term bullish on platinum group metals despite a tentative strike in the South African mining sector that began in January. Prices fell sharply after news of the deal on Thursday and are slightly lower again on Friday. “That said, we maintain our longer-term view that PGM prices will continue to outperform those of gold and silver, as long-term fundamentals for PGMs now look even more constructive for prices than they did at the start of the year,” Barclays says. The bank says “there may be longer-term implications from this strike on the production profile given the length and severity of the strike.” Analysts cite the latest data from Statistics South Africa showing that PGM mining was down 13.4% year-on-year in April, after a 44.7% fall in March, roughly halfway through the strike period.
NKP Price at posting:
6.9¢ Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
