Johannesburg - South African stocks retreated on Wednesday, led by platinum producers that were hit by data showing a sharp fall in Chinese imports of the precious metal, the latest blow for an industry struggling with depressed prices and rising costs.
Mid-tier producer Aquarius Platinum fell more than 6% to around R3, making it the session's second-biggest decliner.
Northam Platinum, which on Wednesday unveiled a $600 million deal that will increase its black ownership to over a third and inject R4.6bn ($420) in cash to fund growth, lost 2.8% to R34.80.
Official customs data showed China's platinum imports fell 18.5% in September to 8 615 kg, and were down by a similar percentage in the year to date. The spot price fell 0.5% to $1 265.75 an ounce.
"Although the market remains bullish for platinum prices over the longer term, the unconvincing bounce from recent sub-$1 200 levels shows the limited amount of confidence investors have in the potential for this metal to make gains in the shorter term," said David Jollie, analyst at Mitsui Precious Metals in London.
Bullion producers were also on the back foot as the spot price slipped from the previous day's six-week peak in the face of renewed dollar weakness.
Harmony Gold fell 2.7% while Africa's top producer AngloGold Ashanti stumbled 2.4%.
Among other decliners, Johannesburg shares of British American Tobacco slid almost 3% after the company reported an accelerated decline in the number of cigarettes sold.
More generally, the equities market had little to cheer from Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene's mini budget presentation on Wednesday, which forecast economic growth of 1.4% in 2014, well down from the 2.7% predicted in February.
The benchmark Top-40 index fell 0.81% to 43 035. It has lost almost 9% since it scaled a life high over 47 000 in July. The wider All-Share index gave up 0.67% to 48 203.
Preliminary bourse data showed 160 issues declined and 130 gained while almost 178 million shares changed hands.