Platinum drops as dollar climbs off 13-month low

Platinum prices fell in American trade as the dollar index pulled away from the lowest since June 22, 2016, as markets await the Federal Reserve's policy decisions following the July 25-26 meeting in Washington. 

As of 02:47 GMT, platinum slid 0.54% to $921.77 an ounce from the opening of $926.79, while the dollar index rose 0.08% to 94.12 from the opening of 94.07. 

Markets now await later US new home sales data, expected to have risen in June, while the Federal Reserve is expected to maintain overnight interest rates at between 1% and 1.2%, while investors look for clues regarding the plan to trim down the bank's massive balance sheet. 

In a recent report, Standard Chartered analysts expected the platinum market to be mostly balanced after revising its projections for an oversupply of 63 thousand ounces this year, compared to a 42K deficit in 2016.

The bank also projected prices to pass through $1000 an ounce in the next 12 months as the market tightens gradually.