Economic woes hit platinum

Platinum Investing News reports platinum prices moving along with base metal trend due to Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch filing for bankruptcy protection.

Oil, base metals such as copper, European equities, and U.S. stock futures, all slipped sharply on the news. Although platinum is technically classified as a precious metal, due to its majority use as an auto catalyst, it behaves more like an industrial metal. As such, it is hypersensitive to threats to economic growth.