Platinum’s price gap with gold is shrinking in 2025, and there are several important reasons behind this shift that anyone can understand.
First, platinum is becoming scarcer. The world’s supply of platinum is facing a serious shortage for the third year in a row. This means that more platinum is being used than mined or recycled. Most of the world’s platinum comes from South Africa, where mining faces challenges such as labor issues and limited new discoveries. Because no big new mines are opening soon, the total amount of platinum available above ground is dropping fast—expected to fall to just 2.5 million ounces this year, which experts say is critically low.
At the same time, demand for platinum is growing strongly across many areas. It’s not just about jewelry anymore; industries like automotive manufacturing need more platinum for catalytic converters that reduce car emissions. Even though electric vehicles (EVs) are rising slowly and use less platinum than traditional cars do, other industrial uses continue to push demand higher. China plays a big role here: it has become the largest consumer of platinum worldwide with imports surging recently and local jewelers rapidly increasing their stock due to strong customer interest.
This combination—less supply but more demand—is pushing prices up quickly for platinum. In fact, its price has jumped over 50% so far this year alone and reached levels not seen since 2014.
Meanwhile, gold prices have also risen but seem to be hitting a ceiling around $3,500 per ounce after an impressive run earlier in the year. Gold remains popular as a safe-haven investment during uncertain times but hasn’t shown much recent upward momentum compared to how fast platinum prices are climbing.
Because gold started out much higher—over three times more expensive than platinum—the narrowing gap means investors and markets are starting to pay closer attention to what makes platinum special right now: its rarity combined with growing industrial importance amid tight supplies could lead it toward even higher prices soon.
In short, while gold still holds its place as a precious metal favorite globally, 2025 might be remembered as the year when investors began seeing real potential in platinum catching up—and maybe even challenging gold’s dominance—as supply shortages meet rising demand head-on across multiple sectors worldwide.