Now it is worth $35 ozt less (give or take). Strikes were supposed to see this precious metal rocket due to supply issues. We have never been heavy on Pt and only have a couple of collectables left after selling all our big coins in 2010. We missed the 2011 highs ,but in hindsight we made the right move. We thought the world was going to hit a massive slowdown and did not want to miss our chance return a good profit. Well as it turns out we are told there is NO SLOWDOWN yet the price of this metal has tanked. Silver and gold "fundamentals" LOL are varied depending on who you ask. The fundamentals for Pt (in my mind) are straight forward, it is a rare metal that is mined commercially in very few places and is a major component of the motor industry. So why the big slump in price if the world (trade)is not slowing down?
part of the problem is that use in catalytic converters is forecast to go down because of general economic slowdown, better fuel efficiency and electric cars. also platinum isn't bought as an investment in India and China in the same way as gold/silver so the depression in ask metals has been softened in those two. Also, even though there are strikes the reasonably straightforward known reserves still exist. Not so much for palladium though. That's going to run out soon enough if more isn't found, the question though is whether they means massive price spikes or it will be so rare that it's not used in industry and isn't a useful metal anymore and losses value.
Just keep stackin' it dude. The stuff is; far rarer than gold harder to mine & refine than gold far more useful to industry than gold and yet now currently cheaper than gold those fundamentals alone make it a buying opportunity. As an indicator of how important an industrial metal it is, in the 'Haber process', platinum mesh (about the thickness of a strand of cotton) is placed in a column of heated natural gas & air. Across that thin span of mesh, the Pt catalyses the 2 gases into ammonia that gets turned into nitrogen fertiliser. Wikipedia states;
I dont agree. If something is rarer than gold, or more dificult to refine, it doesnt mean it is more valuable. Demand is what dictates the price. I think platinum will never be much more above gold no matter how rare it is. I dont care how rare it is, I dont want it.
i dont agree with your disagreement. it should be more valuable because it is rarer. if platinum mines start to dry up and no new platinum is found its price would sky rocket. its used in jewelry, millions of rich wives would scratch eachothers eyes out to get at the last of it. baseball cards, 100million dollar paintings, land, antiques and a hell of alot of other things are valuable because they are scarce or rare...just like recently in the threads $700 for a 5oz mouse and $1000 for a 5oz old silver bar!. when something becomes more scarce demand goes up.
Yes, makes you think. I thought "platinum" cards are better than "gold" cards. Ha. Platinum (and silver) are industrial metals so are feeling the effects of economic weakness around the World on demand. Gold seems to be holding up pretty well (hence the gold-to-silver and gold-to-platinum are near record highs).
Why Palladium even though being an industrial metal was the only PM up during 2014 with 11.35% performance ?
There is no economic weakness or for that matter economic strength. If the central banks across the planet stopped their money printing today the world will be an economic wasteland by Friday. There is no strength or weakness only manipulation, money printing and propaganda. Platinum and the other metals have no connection to the economy - only to central bank money printing and paper derivatives.
Interestingly 1. The rarest element that are of no use is the most expensive. Diamonds 2. The most abundant element that are most useful is the cheapest. Water Hence, platinum rare does and does not equate to cost more than gold, is all matter of preference. Rarest + No Tangible Use = Highest Cost Abundant + Most Inudstrail Use = Lowest Cost Platinum: in between Rarer than Gold + Industrial Use = ????
Platinum is mispriced like everything else in the market. When you print cash and dump in into the banks you create a mispricing of assets. This too will pass and don't excpect Pt to be cheaper than gold for long.
Agreed! Platinum is cheap where we only need 0.95 oz of gold to exchange 1-oz of platinum But gold is way over price where we need $1180 to buy 1-oz of gold. Over price because of the Central Bank of Russia and China are keeping that resulted over supply of paper gold in short positions. Gold way overprice resulted in platinum slightly overprice in terms of USD. My gut feelings are (I maybe or probably wrong) short 1.25 position in gold and go long 1-position in platinum (this way you be protected if and when precious keep falling) platinum will price decline can be expected to be less than gold. If we can use gold to buy platinum, yes I would in a heart beat but I do not have gold in the first place. I have been shorting gold since Russia invaded Crimea; since Central Bank of Russia started buying physical gold. I will be in long position as soon as Central Bank start liquidating physical -cover my shorts, this will create a demand for paper gold buyers. Physical gold demand/supply is probably less than 10% when compared to paper gold demand/supply in a daily basis.
