While it doesn’t approach having the same wealth-protecting power of gold or silver, platinum is a precious metal that just never quite gets the love it deserves. Practically speaking, other than jewelry, platinum is best known as a crucial element for catalytic converters for cars. But it’s also used in manufacturing everything from jet engines and missiles to semiconductors and fertilizers.
The world faces a significant platinum supply shortfall due to record industrial demand.
According to a report by the World Platinum Investment Council (WPIC), the platinum market faces a 1.07-million-ounce deficit in 2023. The supply shortfall is expected to extend into 2024.
With two years of significant market deficits, we will likely see upper pressure on platinum prices.
The boom in AI could mean a boom in industrial demand for precious metals in 2024.
Metals Focus, an independent precious metals research consultancy, released a note recently that said it expects the increased demand for chips powering AI technology to drive “widespread support for a range of precious metals bearing components.”
June is wrapping up strong for gold at the COMEX with 20,101 contracts being delivered. There are still 583 contracts open that have not been delivered, but the majority of the contracts have been completed. Meanwhile, were seeing more and more stress on silver and platinum.
The global precious metals market is on pace to top $400 billion within the next five years.
According to Fortune Business Insights, an India-based consultancy company, the precious metals market is on pace to hit $403.1 billion by 2028, driven primarily by the gold market. This is up from $275 billion in 2021.
This analysis typically starts with gold, but the activity in platinum is a major event that should not be overlooked.
See the article What is the Comex? for a bit of backstory.
Platinum has caught the eye of customers lately given how relatively inexpensive it has been trading compared to other precious metals.
Even though throughout history platinum has been cheaper per ounce than gold, platinum experienced a major spike in price from roughly 2000-2008. Since then, platinum has remained less expensive than gold, and this has caused some people to consider it a better potential speculative play versus simply buying gold.
While investors often treat gold as a commodity, at its core, gold is money. Silver also has a long history as a monetary metal. But what about other rare metals? Could they serve as money as well?
In the following guest column, SchiffGold client Antony Pouros makes the case for platinum.
Pro-tip – If you ever have to load 9.3 tons of gold, silver and platinum in an airplane, make sure you secure the load. I mean, tie it down good. You know, throw a few bungee chords over it. Or maybe a strap or two. Something. At least some rope. Because here’s a dirty little secret.
Things shift during flight.
Apparently, the guys loading the Russian AN-12 cargo plane in Siberia never read the little warnings on the overhead bins or listened to the flight attendant spiel. They loaded more than 18,000 pounds of gold and other precious metals on the plane and, as a Time Magazine report put it, “didn’t properly stabilize the load” before takeoff.
As you can probably imagine, this didn’t end well.
The SchiffGold Friday Gold Wrap podcast combines a succinct summary of the week’s precious metals news coupled with thoughtful analysis. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.
