Platinum price puzzles

If anything demonstrates the illogicality of the precious metals markets, it appears to be platinum. But is this really the case? Currently the metal is languishing at around a five-year low, yet most analysts put global platinum supply as being in a substantial deficit situation ever since last year’s South African platinum mine strikes, which took a substantial hunk of the metal out of the markets.

Platinum is also selling at a lower price than gold – around $40 an ounce lower at the moment – which is a relatively rare, but not unknown, occurrence.

Indeed the world’s most respected platinum analysts at Johnson Matthey suggested that the platinum deficit last year was upwards of 1.1 million ounces – and in a total global market of around 8.5 million ounces, that is a big percentage deficit of getting on for 13%. Not only was platinum in deficit in 2014, but it had also been in deficit for the previous two years too, although not as large.

Read More: www.mineweb.com/news/platinum-group-metals/platinum-price-puzzles/