Why Platinum Prices Spike Suddenly

Platinum prices can spike suddenly when supply gets tight while demand shoots up fast. This happened in 2025, pushing prices to a 15-year high of $1,922.20 per ounce on December 17.https://fortune.com/article/current-price-of-platinum-12-17-2025/https://nai500.com/blog/2025/11/platinum-prices-hit-15-year-high-what-are-the-driving-forces/

South Africa supplies most of the world’s platinum, but mines there faced big production problems this year. Manufacturing constraints cut output, creating scarcity even as buyers wanted more.https://fortune.com/article/current-price-of-platinum-12-17-2025/ The market ended 2025 with a huge deficit of 692 thousand ounces, made worse by trade tensions that shifted investment flows.https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/platinum-market-to-end-2025-with-692-koz-deficit-potential-easing-of-tariff-fears-leads-to-a-more-balanced-platinum-market-in-2026-302619223.html

Investors jumped in too. With gold prices soaring, people turned to platinum as a cheaper option and a shield against inflation. This extra buying piled on top of the supply crunch, sparking quick gains.https://fortune.com/article/current-price-of-platinum-12-17-2025/ Since early 2025, prices rose over 77 percent, with the fastest jumps starting in June.https://fortune.com/article/current-price-of-platinum-12-17-2025/

Even though industrial use dropped 22 percent due to slower auto sales, the investment rush overwhelmed that.https://goldinvest.de/en/platinum-price-soaring-why-the-wpic-sees-little-relief/ Unprecedented conditions in the third quarter of 2025 sent prices to levels not seen in nearly 15 years.https://www.kitco.com/news/article/2025-11-19/balanced-platinum-market-2026-wont-fix-fundamental-long-term-issues-wpic

These factors hit all at once, turning steady platinum into a hot commodity overnight.