The purchasing of platinum by the worldwide jewelry industry fell by 14 percent to 2.42 million ounces in 2010 following an extremely strong 2009, according to a platinum group metals report by specialty chemicals and advanced materials company, Johnson Matthey.
Demand from the Chinese jewelry sector remained robust, at 1.65 million ounces, but this was significantly below the exceptional level of 2009, according to the report, Platinum 2011, released by the London-based company Monday. A combination of higher metal prices and full stock levels contributed to the decline. However, demand in China was substantially higher than in 2008, the last time platinum's price was at similarly high levels to 2010.
Meanwhile, global gross palladium demand in the jewelry sector fell by 20 percent to 620,000 ounces, largely due to a decline in manufacturing of palladium jewelry in China, which more than offset an increase in manufacture of palladium jewelry in Europe and North America. China by far is the largest market for palladium jewelry.
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