Platinum Spot Market Sees Abundant Shipments and Mixed Offers; Sluggish Transactions Unchanged [SMM Daily Comment]

[SMM PGM Flash: Valterra Platinum Releases Impressive Semi-Annual Report] South African PGM producer Valterra Platinum disclosed its H1 2026 performance, with revenue surging 93% YoY to 82 billion South African rand; core EPS soared 1,633% YoY, and EBITDA grew 404%. The company turned from a net debt position last year to net cash of 23.7 billion rand, and declared an interim dividend of 15 billion rand. The improved profitability mainly benefited from the recovery of PGM prices, higher refined output, and cost control. Its CEO Craig Miller also provided an outlook: The AI industry will continue to create incremental PGM demand, with current AI-related annual PGM consumption around 200,000–400,000 ounces, and is expected to grow up to fivefold by 2030. Going forward, the company will partner with Johnson Matthey, Umicore, Pujing Chemical, and others to jointly expand new PGM industrial applications.

[SMM Precious Metal Express] US-Iran talks remain in a "Rashomon" stalemate. Trump stated negotiations are ongoing and the Strait of Hormuz may reopen by Tuesday at the latest, calling it Iran's "last chance," while Iran reportedly rejected the latest US proposal, insisting the strait will not fully reopen until the war ends. Geopolitical risk premiums cooled sharply, with WTI crude closing down 7.42% at $78.72 and Brent down 5.92% at $83.07, though the risk of reversals remains.

[SMM Precious Metal Express] The Bank of Korea announced plans to purchase domestically refined gold bars for the first time in 13 years. Following the People's Bank of China's consecutive increases, Korea joins the gold-buying trend, with continued central bank demand expansion providing medium-to-long-term support for gold.