Jeweller Michael Bloomstein said the reason for the drop was the panic that has gripped Hong Kong and China over the SARS epidemic. “The Chinese trade buys quite a lot of platinum,” Mr Bloomstein explained. “Clearly under the present circumstances they have simply stopped buying for a while.”
SARS hits trade in platinum
THE SARS virus has caused a slump in the price of jewellers’ platinum as the Far Eastern jewellery trade effectively goes into quarantine. While silver seems stable and the price of gold has actually risen slightly, platinum has plummeted 39p per gram over the past week, from £10.04 to £9.65.
