US car and truck sales grew by 4.8 per cent during February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 16.4 million units.

Strong results by Japanese car makers fuelled demand, while Ford posted declining results for the fifth consecutive month, Reuters reports.

An increase in demand for cars is likely to spur production levels, which in turn holds the potential to affect the volumes of platinum, palladium and rhodium bought by car manufacturers for use in autocatalysts to control harmful emissions.

Gary Dilts, senior vice president of sales at the Chrysler division of DaimlerChrysler, commented on the sales increase: '[Sales during] the last weekend of the month ran at an exceptional rate, higher than we've seen for a number of years This was a giant close.'

Japanese makers led the modest increase, with Nissan sales soaring by 46 per cent during February, while Toyota reported a sales increase of 17 per cent and Honda a seven per cent rise.

General Motors also enjoyed an increase in demand for its vehicles in the US, with sales rising by six per cent to 353,117 vehicles.

Ford explained that demand for its vehicles dropped by three per cent following its decision to stop low-margin sales to car rental agencies.

Ford senior economist, Jarlath Costello, attributed the decline to the 'sluggish labour market' undermining consumer confidence.

However, this drop did not apply to its foreign brands Volvo, Land Rover and Jaguar, and its medium and heavy-duty trucks.