Platinum beat gold, silver in 2025, surging over 150 pc. Here’s why

Through 2025, prices of gold and silver have surged as global geopolitical and trade uncertainties have driven investors toward safe-haven assets, driving precious metals prices to new highs. Silver has also caught investors’ fancy due to its strong demand for industrial use cases. Year-to-date, gold has risen around 70 per cent, while silver has surged near 150 per cent.

However, one metal has trumped them all. Platinum prices have jumped around 160 percent year-to-date. The rally has been particularly sharp since mid-November. At the beginning of the year, platinum traded below $1,000 an ounce, but prices have now topped $2,350 an ounce for the first time.

There are several factors behind this dramatic rise in platinum's price. For one, just like silver, platinum is a precious metal while also having several industrial use cases.

A key demand for platinum is from the automotive industry. While it is used in hydrogen fuel cell and electric vehicles for its catalytic and conducive properties, it also acts as a catalyst in petrol and diesel catalytic converters in vehicles. According to the World Platinum Investment Council, automotive demand for platinum has alone accounted for between 29 and 42 per cent of total demand over the past five years. It is also used in various other industries.

While demand has been good, supply has been tight. A major portion of platinum supply comes from South African mines. Due to supply difficulties there, platinum will likely see a supply shortage for the third consecutive year. That is also putting upward pressure on the platinum price.

According to the World Platinum Investment Council, supply is likely to have declined 2 per cent to 7,129 koz (thousand ounces) in 2025. On the other hand, automotive demand is forecast to rise 10 per cent above the prior five-year average, and jewellery demand has grown 7 per cent. Total bar and coin investment is expected to see a 47 per cent year-on-year spike, boosted by demand in China.

The metal has risen for the 10th consecutive session, its longest streak since 2017, according to Jigar Trivedi, senior research analyst at Reliance Securities. The price rise this year is platinum’s largest annual advance since at least 1987, he added.

“More than 600,000 ounces are held in US warehouses as traders await the outcome of Washington’s Section 232 probe, which could impose tariffs or trade restrictions, while supply disruptions in South Africa, the world’s largest producer, have contributed to a third consecutive annual deficit,” noted Trivedi.

The United States had launched a Section 232 investigation into risks posed by critical mineral imports on national security in April this year. It could potentially lead to higher tariffs or restrictions, which is keeping traders on edge.

In November, China began futures trading in platinum and palladium for the first time, and that has also supported the prices.

“Optimism has been bolstered by the launch of platinum futures on the Guangzhou Futures Exchange, where prices have risen above other benchmarks, supporting continued upward pressure on the metal,” said Trivedi.

This year has been fairly volatile and uncertain, given the geopolitical tensions and the import tariffs imposed by the US administration on many countries. Central banks, from the Federal Reserve in the US to the Reserve Bank of India, have slashed interest rates to push growth. While US stock markets have rallied on the back of a rally in AI tech stocks, Indian stock markets have performed modestly. The BSE Sensex, for instance, is up around 9 per cent year-to-date. On the other hand, the midcap index has been flat, and the smallcap index is down over 7 per cent, a sharp contrast to the uncertainty-fuelled boom in precious metals.