Analysts with the investment bank JP Morgan have warned that the spread of the SARS virus throughout Asia could seriously affect demand for precious metals.

The spread of SARS is threatening to stall China's buoyant economy, which experts say has been one of the key drivers of metals demands in recent years.

'With China being such a key consumer of metals, the potential metal-demand impact of SARS cannot be ignored,' analysts at JP Morgan said in a research note.

Chinese demand for jewellery as well as its position as an emerging automotive market has made it an increasingly attractive proposition of late for the platinum industry.

From a comparatively small market in the beginning of the 1990s the demand for platinum jewellery in China now stands at around 1.5 million ounces per year