Platinum producers lead S.Africa stocks lower
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African stocks retreated on Wednesday, led by platinum producers that were hit by data showing a sharp fall in Chinese imports of the precious metal, the latest blow for an industry struggling with depressed prices and rising costs. Mid-tier producer Aquarius Platinum fell more than 6 percent to around 3 rand, making it the session's second-biggest decliner. Northam Platinum, which on Wednesday unveiled a $600 million deal that will increase its black ownership to over a third and inject 4.6 billion rand ($420) in cash to fund growth, lost 2.8 percent to 34.80 rand. Official customs data showed China's platinum imports fell 18.5 percent in September to 8,615 kg, and were down by a similar percentage in the year to date. The spot price fell 0.5 percent to $1,265.75 an ounce. "Although the market remains bullish for platinum prices over the longer term, the unconvincing bounce from recent sub-$1,200 levels shows the limited amount of confidence investors have in the potential for this metal to make gains in the shorter term," said David Jollie, analyst at Mitsui Precious Metals in London. Bullion producers were also on the back foot as the spot price slipped from the previous day's six-week peak in the face of renewed dollar weakness. [GOL/] Harmony Gold fell 2.7 percent while Africa's top producer AngloGold Ashanti stumbled 2.4 percent. Among other decliners, Johannesburg shares of British American Tobacco slid almost 3 percent after the company reported an accelerated decline in the number of cigarettes sold. More generally, the equities market had little to cheer from Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene's medium-term budget presentation on Wednesday, which forecast economic growth of 1.4 percent in 2014, well down from the 2.7 percent predicted in February. The benchmark Top-40 index fell 0.81 percent to 43,035. It has lost almost 9 percent since it scaled a life high over 47,000 in July. The wider All-Share index gave up 0.67 percent to 48,203. Preliminary bourse data showed 160 issues declined and 130 gained while almost 178 million shares changed hands. (Reporting by Ed Stoddard in Johannesburg and Jan Harvey in London; editing by Susan Thomas)
