--Nymex July platinum recently trades up $7.30, or 0.5%, at
$1,517.90 a troy ounce
--Platinum miners at Lonmin in South Africa vote for strike,
union boss wants more talks
--Gold steady after ECB meeting, traders cautious ahead of
Friday's US jobs data
By Matt Day
NEW YORK--Platinum futures hit a five-week high on Thursday as
union workers at a South African mine voted to strike, the latest
threat to supply from the top producer of the metal.
The most actively traded platinum contract, for July delivery,
recently traded up $7.30, or 0.5%, at $1,517.90 a troy ounce on the
New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures rose as high as $1,523 an
ounce, the highest since April 29.
Members of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union
this week voted to go on strike at platinum producer Lonmin PLC
(LMI.LN), but the union's president has asked members for more time
to negotiate with the company's management.
"We want to avoid a strike," AMCU president Joseph Mathunjwa
said.
AMCU members say they're frustrated with the union recognition
process at the mine after the group recently beat out a rival union
for members. Union officials at AMCU and rival National Union of
Mineworkers have been shot and killed in recent weeks.
Even if AMCU is able to convince its members to avoid another
strike now, the mining sector faces the possibility of more
industrial action as gold and coal producers begin negotiations for
a new two-year wage agreement this month. Wage talks are normally
accompanied by strikes as part of the negotiating process to demand
higher wage increases.
South Africa accounts for about three quarters of global
platinum output.
A brief strike was held at Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd. (IMPUY)
on Tuesday, and workers at chrome mines owned by Glencore Xstrata
PLC (GLEN.LN) remain on strike.
Gold was little changed after European Central Bank chief Mario
Draghi didn't outline a course change to monetary policy in a press
conference following the bank's policy meeting.
Gold trading activity has been muted this week, with some in the
market reluctant to place large bets ahead of Friday's closely
watched reading on the U.S. labor market. Prices have been
pressured for much of this year by the view that an improving U.S.
economy would spur the Federal Reserve to throttle back its
easy-money policies.
Gold for August delivery, the most actively traded contract, was
recently unchanged at $1,398.50 a troy ounce on the Comex division
of the Nymex.
"Gold is just having a hard time putting any distance between
itself and $1,400," said Matt Zeman, a market strategist with
Kingsview Financial.
-Devon Maylie and Tatyana Shumsky contributed to this
article.
-Write to Matt Day at matt.day@dowjones.com