HardAssetsInvestor

Written by Julian Murdoch  |

October 18, 2009

Platinum: A Stronger Safe Haven Than Gold?

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Gold isn't the only precious metal shining lately. What's behind platinum's rise—and, more importantly, will it continue?

• Demand still recovering from 2008
• Oversupply in 2009 and 2010?
• How would a U.S. ETF affect the market?

 

Gold has scored a lot of press lately, and for good reason: Its price just keeps on making new records and breaking them. Just last week, the yellow metal recently struck a new all-time high of $1,072/oz.

But on a year-to-date basis, another precious metal has quietly outshone gold's returns: platinum.

As we've discussed before, platinum is both an industrial metal and an investment vehicle, used to make jewelry, construct automobile catalytic converters and as a safe haven for bullion investors. Last year, the white metal was still in hot demand: According to Platinum Today, in 2008, miners across the globe produced 185.7 metric tons of platinum, but consumers used 197.4 metric tons of the white metal—a deficit of 11.7 metric tons.

That deficit was a result of a supply-side shock. Power shortages in South Africa, where the majority of the world's platinum is mined, caused severe interruptions in mining operations. By early March of 2008, platinum had hit an all-time record of $2,301.50/oz., while gold hovered around $98/oz.

Of course, last October, both metals took a beating as a result of the financial crisis, and their prices had started to converge. Platinum was the harder hit, dropping 68 percent off its record to strike a five-year low of $744.25/oz. on Oct. 27, 2008. Gold fared slightly better, hitting its low of $705 a couple of weeks later.

Since then, both metals have managed to recover from their lows, as investors turn to precious metals for safe havens from the weakening dollar. But platinum in particular has taken off; since the beginning of the year, platinum's price has gained more than 50 percent, reaching a high of $1,367.90 last Tuesday:

 

 

But not all of platinum's outperformance can be traced back to safe-haven investing. As with most things in the commodity world, China has also influenced platinum's recovery.