Platinum and palladium do not profit from strong car registration figures in Europe

Gold is trading virtually unchanged at just short of $1,110 per troy ounce this morning. In euro terms gold costs €980 per troy ounce and as such likewise remains virtually unchanged as compared with yesterday. 

By contrast, platinum and palladium found themselves under noticeable pressure yesterday, each shedding 1.6%. The price slide is continuing yesterday morning despite bullish news, platinum is trading at a 5½-week low of a good $950 per troy ounce, while palladium has fallen to $580 per troy ounce. 

The European auto market remains on track for recovery, according to data from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA), around 745,000 new cars were registered in August. 

Although this constitutes a sharp decline as compared with July, August is always a weak month in terms of car sales. Year-on-year, new car registrations rose by 11.2%, all key sales markets playing their part in the growth. Monthly sales figures have been showing continuously positive year-on-year change rates for two years now, notes Commerzbank.