Is platinum more expensive than gold? A market analysis for 2025

Current Price Comparison: What Costs More?

The question of whether platinum or gold is more expensive can now be clearly answered: Gold is currently the more valuable precious metal. With a price of over $3,300 per ounce, gold significantly exceeds platinum prices. In July 2025, platinum is trading at around $1,450 per ounce – less than half the gold price.

However, this relationship was not always the case. Historically, platinum was the more valuable of the two metals for a long time. In 2014, platinum prices were still well above gold. In 1924, platinum even reached six times the gold price. This dramatic shift results from different market dynamics and demand factors.

Why has the price ratio shifted so dramatically?

The reasons for this reversal are diverse. While gold has continuously reached new all-time highs since 2019 and even surpassed the $3,500 mark in April 2025, platinum’s price development has been much more volatile.

A major factor is demand from the automotive industry. Platinum is primarily used in diesel catalysts – a sector that has lost significant demand in recent years. As the global auto industry shifts focus to electromobility, platinum demand has steadily declined. This put downward pressure on prices. In early 2020, platinum prices even fell below $600 per ounce.

In contrast, gold benefits from its role as an inflation hedge and crisis currency. Geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainties regularly boost gold demand.

The surprising recovery in 2025

However, the picture changed significantly in 2025. From January to July 2025, platinum prices rose from nearly $900 to $1,450 – an increase of over 50 percent. This rally is driven by several factors:

• Physical scarcity: South Africa, the world’s largest platinum producer, experienced significant production disruptions
• Structural deficit: Demand exceeds available supply permanently
• Weak US dollar: A lower dollar makes commodities more attractive to foreign buyers
• Investor demand: Massive inflows into platinum ETFs signal growing investor interest
• Stable demand: China and the jewelry sector show unexpectedly robust purchasing power

This combination generated a price surge that freed platinum from its years of stagnation.

Platinum versus Gold: Different Use Cases

An important difference: gold is primarily an investment product, while platinum serves a dual role. Besides its function as an investment, platinum has significant industrial importance. Its applications range from jewelry and diesel catalysis to medicine (implants), chemical industry (fertilizer production), and promising technologies like hydrogen production.

This industrial demand component makes platinum more volatile than gold. During economic booms, platinum demand increases disproportionately due to higher industrial needs. During recessions, it declines faster.

At the same time, platinum is much rarer than gold – a fact that was especially paradoxical given its long negative price trend. The so-called platinum-gold ratio has been negative since 2011, indicating the longest period of underperformance in its price history.

Market Outlook for 2025 and Beyond

According to the World Platinum Investment Council, demand of 7,863 koz (oz) and supply of 7,324 koz are expected for 2025. This results in a deficit of 539 koz – a situation that tends to push prices upward.

Supply is expected to grow by only about one percent, as structural issues in platinum mining prevent rapid capacity increases. The only exception: the recycling market could expand by up to twelve percent.

Demand shows a mixed picture:

• Automotive industry (41% of demand): Slight increase of 2 percent
• Jewelry sector (25%): Also 2 percent growth
• Investments (6%): 7 percent increase
• Industry (28%): Decrease of 9 percent

Overall, a slightly negative to neutral demand scenario emerges. The key to the forecast is how US and Chinese industrial activity develop. If trade tensions or tariffs burden the economy, industrial demand could further decline. Conversely, unexpectedly strong growth could give platinum upside potential.

A risk: after the strong rally, there may be consolidation pressure until the end of the year. Profit-taking could trigger price declines. However, if the US dollar remains weak and the physical deficit persists, platinum would have fundamentally supported price levels.

Investment Opportunities in Platinum

Interested investors have several options:

Physical ownership: Coins, bars, or jewelry offer direct metal ownership but require secure storage with associated costs.

ETCs and ETFs: These products track platinum prices and allow easy portfolio integration without storage hassle. Especially suitable for beginners.

Mining stocks: Investing in platinum-producing companies offers indirect exposure with additional company performance potential.

CFDs and futures: For experienced traders, these allow speculation on price movements. CFDs enable leverage effects with smaller capital.

Trading Strategies for Active Investors

Platinum’s higher volatility makes it attractive for active traders. A proven strategy is trend following with moving averages: combining a fast (10-day) and slow (30-day) moving average. A buy signal occurs when the fast crosses above the slow; a sell signal when it crosses below.

Essential risk management:

• Risk no more than 1-2 percent of total capital per trade
• Use consistent stop-loss orders
• Example calculation: With €10,000 total capital and a 1 percent risk budget (€100), the leveraged position with 5x leverage should be a maximum of €1,000

Example:

• Total capital: €10,000
• Max risk budget (1%): €100
• Stop-loss: 2 percent below entry price
• With 5x leverage, a 2 percent price loss equals a 10 percent position loss
• Max position size: €1,000

Portfolio Diversification with Platinum

For more conservative investors, platinum offers diversification potential. Due to its supply and demand dynamics, it can sometimes move counter to stocks. As a component, platinum can help hedge a U.S. stock portfolio over the long term.

Suitable instruments include platinum ETCs/ETFs, physical metal, or mining stocks. The optimal portfolio weighting should be determined individually based on risk tolerance and investment goals. Due to higher volatility, combining platinum with other precious metals and regular rebalancing is recommended.