Platinum price intraday drifted lower, spot market inquiries increased and consumption recovered somewhat [SMM Daily Comment]

Platinum drifted lower today, with the yields on long- and short-term US Treasuries pulling back slightly overnight. Affected by news that the Treasury expanded its long-term bond buyback program, long-end yields eased somewhat but remained in a high range overall, while real rates saw no significant decline. The US dollar index weakened only modestly in tandem, but platinum and palladium futures were more weighed down by profit-taking from earlier bulls. Although there was some relief on the macro perspective, the market is still awaiting guidance from the Jackson Hole symposium and this week's PCE data, with policy expectations yet to be clarified. In early trading, the most-traded platinum contract PT2610 on GFEX settled at 455.95 yuan/g, down 1.47%; the bid price for platinum 9995 on the Shanghai Gold Exchange maintained a price spread of about 4 yuan/g against the GFEX PT2610 contract.

On the spot side, mainstream quotations for platinum were at a discount of 3.5-2.5 yuan/g against the PT2610 contract, with suppliers' discount offers limitedly changed from the previous trading day. As futures prices weakened during the day, inquiries increased, consumption recovered somewhat, and the transaction discount narrowed slightly. Overall, spot market consumption for platinum was normal today.