Washington (Platts)--6Dec2012/615 pm EST/2315 GMT

Rhodium prices approached their lowest trading range of the year this week on lack of consumer demand and plentiful supply. The Platts New York Dealer rhodium range narrowed to $1,050-1,100/oz this week from $1,050-1,125 last week.

Rhodium had traded near or above $1,100/oz for most of the quarter after selling off sharply in August and September. UK precious metal refining giant Johnson Matthey lowered its North American rhodium base price this week to $1,100 after holding steady at $1,125-1,150 for nearly five weeks.

"I don't know why JM took so long to lower their base price, because the market was at least $1,100 and below the entire week," one physical PGM trader said, echoing the opinion of other market participants. One refiner however, said he was offered at $1,125 "for the better part of the week."

Though limited demand was heard from China, most sources characterized the overall market as quiet. "The Chinese are buying a little bit, but other than that, things are pretty quiet," one investment bank trader said. "People, the refiners, are selling a little bit every day."

Like platinum and palladium, rhodium is used in the production of automobile catalytic converters. But rhodium is far more dependent on demand from the auto sector than platinum and palladium, which are used in other industrial applications as well as jewelry.

--Nick Jonson, nick_jonson@platts.com --Edited by Carla Bass, carla_bass@platts.com