Platinum prices have more than doubled in 2025, hitting a 17-year high near $1,800 per ounce due to tight global supplies and rising demand from key markets like China and hydrogen energy.https://us.fashionnetwork.com/news/Platinum-hits-17-year-high-as-tight-supply-doubles-price-in-2025,1792944.html Spot prices jumped as much as 4.9% in a single day recently, with daily gains stacking up over multiple sessions.https://us.fashionnetwork.com/news/Platinum-hits-17-year-high-as-tight-supply-doubles-price-in-2025,1792944.html
A big reason is the ongoing supply shortage. South Africa, which supplies about 80% of the world’s platinum, faces mining problems like high costs, labor issues, power shortages, and lack of new investments.https://www.streetwisereports.com/article/2025/12/15/platinums-impressive-ascent-could-continue-through-2026.html Russia, the number two producer, deals with geopolitical risks and sanctions that disrupt flows.https://www.streetwisereports.com/article/2025/12/15/platinums-impressive-ascent-could-continue-through-2026.html This has created a structural deficit expected to last several years, with borrowing costs for platinum at a sky-high 14% in London, showing traders are holding tight to their stocks.https://us.fashionnetwork.com/news/Platinum-hits-17-year-high-as-tight-supply-doubles-price-in-2025,1792944.htmlhttps://www.interactivebrokers.com/campus/traders-insight/securities/commodities/why-a-structural-deficit-and-hydrogen-economy-could-boost-platinum/
Demand is heating up too, especially in China. A new platinum futures contract on the Guangzhou Futures Exchange has drawn speculators, pushing prices above global benchmarks and boosting exports there.https://us.fashionnetwork.com/news/Platinum-hits-17-year-high-as-tight-supply-doubles-price-in-2025,1792944.html China just classified platinum as a strategic critical mineral, locking in long-term needs since it imports nearly all it uses.https://www.streetwisereports.com/article/2025/12/15/platinums-impressive-ascent-could-continue-through-2026.html This ties into growing demand for hydrogen fuel cells, where platinum is key and hard to replace.https://www.interactivebrokers.com/campus/traders-insight/securities/commodities/why-a-structural-deficit-and-hydrogen-economy-could-boost-platinum/
Trade tensions add pressure. Banks are storing extra platinum in US warehouses, over 600,000 ounces, to dodge potential tariffs from a US government probe.https://us.fashionnetwork.com/news/Platinum-hits-17-year-high-as-tight-supply-doubles-price-in-2025,1792944.html Investors are piling in, riding a precious metals wave that has also lifted gold and silver to records.https://www.interactivebrokers.com/campus/traders-insight/securities/commodities/why-a-structural-deficit-and-hydrogen-economy-could-boost-platinum/ Recycling is up but not enough to fill the gap.https://www.interactivebrokers.com/campus/traders-insight/securities/commodities/why-a-structural-deficit-and-hydrogen-economy-could-boost-platinum/
Analysts see this rally continuing, with many forecasting $1,770 by year-end and up to $2,340 in 2026, thanks to steady industrial uses in autos, electronics, and energy.https://www.streetwisereports.com/article/2025/12/15/platinums-impressive-ascent-