Rate hike sentiment gradually digested, platinum consolidates with an upward bias in early trading; spot market trading returns to sluggishness [SMM Daily Review]

Platinum consolidated on a strong note today. Market sentiment digested the rate hike quickly, awaiting further guidance from macro data and geopolitical developments. Precious metals futures moved sideways in a narrow range.

In early trading, the most-traded GFEX platinum contract PT2612 closed at 443 yuan/g, up 0.25%. The price spread between the best ask price for SGE platinum 9995 and the GFEX PT2610 contract narrowed to around 5 yuan/g. In the spot market, mainstream quotations from platinum traders were concentrated near parity against the PT2610 contract, basically flat from the previous trading day. However, downstream consumption turned sluggish with fewer inquiries, and most downstream buyers had sufficient stockpiles, resulting in low purchasing demand. As platinum prices edged up after the rate hike, some upstream smelters chose to sell at slight discounts to move shipments. Overall, trading in the platinum spot market was relatively sluggish today.