Over half of global platinum demand comes from the car industry.

"Demand has come to the forefront rather than supply, which the market was....

"Demand has come to the forefront rather than supply, which the market was all about in the first half of this year," said Mitsubishi precious metals strategist Tom Kendall. "People’s attention just keeps getting drawn back to...the auto industry.UBS analyst John Reade said in a note that "unprecedented" over-the-counter liquidation in platinum, plus selling on TOCOM, NYMEX and by exchange-traded funds, has seen 2-3 million ounces of the metal sold since early July"Contrast that with annual supply of about 8 million ounces and a forecast deficit of about 500,000 ounces, and the price move becomes more understandable," he said Fears over demand have pushed platinum down more than 50 percent from the highs of $2,290 an ounce it hit in March this year, after news of an electricity shortage in South Africa, which produces 80 percent of global supply of the metal.Among other precious metals, spot silver slipped to $10.71/10.78 from $10.75/10.83. Earlier it touched a session low of $10.58, its weakest in nearly two years.