Platinum is in retreat mode

Platinum is in retreat mode on the back of reports that Amplats workers are returning to the mines following Mondays clash between rival mining unions. The white metal closed near $1700 on Tuesday but the situation doesn’t appear to be escalating, which has pressured platinum to its current level of $1652 (down 2.7% on the day). Palladium has followed suit with a 2.7% decline in the early part of the session. Palladium is now trading at $743. A decrease in housing starts was counterbalanced by an uptick in housing permits which may lead to more positive sentiment in the equities markets. This has led to further pressure in the gold market as the yellow metal is down nearly 1% to start. The FOMC meeting minutes will be released later today any evidence to further support the idea that QE could be halted by the end of 2013 may have gold testing even lower. However, one must remember that the economy is still on a fragile footing as the looming spending cuts facing the U.S. government are a little more than a week away. Have a great day!