Toyota Motor Corp, Nissan Motor Co and Honda Motor Co temporarily stopped production at their auto plants in Japan. The area hit by Friday’s earthquake is a major center for automobile production.
Investors are concerned that the closures will reduce demand for platinum and palladium, which are key metals used in manufacturing automobile catalytic converters.
CPM Group analyst Carlos Sanchez said demand will diminish for both metals, at least in the short term.
He cited robust demand for the metals in emerging markets, particularly China, and improved demand as economies grow stronger in Europe and the US
Platinum for April delivery fell $29.40, or 1.7 percent, to settle at $1,752.30 an ounce and June palladium lost $17.30, or 2.3 percent, to settle at $748.20 an ounce.
Another factor that continues to weigh on metals used in manufacturing is persistently high oil prices, Sanchez said. Traders are worried that oil prices at $100 a barrel or higher will bring a slowdown in global manufacturing.
In other metals contracts, April gold added $3.10 to settle at $1,424.90 an ounce, May silver fell 9.5 cents to settle at $35.84 an ounce and May copper lost 2.15 cents to settle at $4.1735 per pound.
