physical platinum shortage - uk times

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/natural_resources/article5704941.ece

Shortage of platinum after Japan buying spree
Families are rushing to invest in the metal as faith in the Government's ability to handle the economic crisis dwindles
Leo Lewis, Asia Business Correspondent
Tokyo bullion dealers are reporting an unprecedented drought of platinum ingots and coins, blaming the economic downturn and dwindling faith in the Government for a rush by middle-class Japanese families to buy precious metal.
With dealers turning away would-be platinum customers for lack of stock, retail investment interest is turning towards the even rarer Canadian Maple Leaf palladium coin.
Some dealers are predicting volatile palladium prices as Japanese investors compete with the car industry, palladium's main industrial buyer.
A government think tank is predicting that Japan's economy shrank by an annualised 10.59 per cent in the final quarter of 2008 - rather than the 5.14 per cent contraction they were predicting four weeks ago.
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As if this was not enough for concern, there is a growing sense that the Japanese Government is not responding adequately to the economic crisis.
Jonathan Allum, chief Japan strategist at KBC Securities, is among a number of analysts with deep scepticism over the plans laid out by Kaoru Yosano, the Economics Minister.
“Some of Mr Yosano's previously expressed views do not wholly inspire confidence. This is a man who said on January 28 that a rise in the consumption tax could ‘lay the foundations for increased consumption',” he said in a note to investors yesterday.
Although precious metals dealers are thriving, Tiffany's said yesterday that it would cut prices in its Japanese stores by 9 per cent - a reflection of the stronger yen and dire times for the mainstream jewellery industry.
Platinum sales at Tanaka Kikinzoku, the largest Japanese bullion dealer, have soared by 430 per cent over the past 12 months.
The World Gold Council's latest figures suggest that total Japanese gold bullion sales for investment purposes soared by 61 per cent last year. Platinum is popular because the price is about 50 per cent lower than it was this time last year.