Platinum almost price of gold. Trade of the decade?

[the count]

spot platinum close was something like 826. gold 800.

last time this happened was a long time ago. anybody have the details and how long it took for platinum to return to 'normal' spread to gold?

PS only platinum etf i know of is PTM

[ClayTrainor]

i thought platinum was almost double the price of gold just a few months ago.

would be interested to hear more about this...

[Josh_LA]

yep, it WAS for a long time twice as gold

I'm looking at it RIGHT NOW

I see LOTS of platinum bullion on eBay for only $1200 or less! So unless you can get gold for under $800, GO FOR IT.

[the count]

better to buy the (little known) etf. priced at under 10 at the moment...

last time platinum was the price of gold was years ago and i kicked myself silly for not getting into the trade..

[Josh_LA]

better to buy the (little known) etf. priced at under 10 at the moment...

last time platinum was the price of gold was years ago and i kicked myself silly for not getting into the trade..

whatever you like.

[ClayTrainor]

What is causing this decrease in platinum prices? Any speculations? What would constitute another increase?

[LibertyRevolution]

I don’t know anything but I will speculate.
What if platinum isn’t cheap? What if it is gold that is over priced?
I mean silver dropped, platinum dropped, gold should have dropped to like $450, but it hasn’t.
I speculate that the price of gold is being propped up so that it doesn’t get back down to <$500/oz.
I think if it did, the world would dump dollars and buy gold, totally screwing our economy overnight.

[ClayTrainor]

I don’t know anything but I will speculate.
What if platinum isn’t cheap?

Platinum is at less than half the price it was only a couple of months ago... that's relatively cheap, wouldnt you agree?

What if it is gold that is over priced?
I mean silver dropped, platinum dropped, gold should have dropped to like $450, but it hasn’t.

I don't really know much either, but i'll speculate with you

Gold did drop, it's back on the rise now, but it hit a dip of 740 or so, and was at 1000 only a couple months ago.


The metals are not EXACTLY relative to each other, as some have industrial use factored into their value, but there have been fairly relative drops and increases in the price of PM's as far as i can tell.

It's also notable that Crude Oil is following a similar but more drastic trend.

I speculate that the price of gold is being propped up so that it doesn’t get back down to <$500/oz.
I think if it did, the world would dump dollars and buy gold, totally screwing our economy overnight.

How would they prop up the price of gold? All the FED can do now is print money, and that will only weaken the dollar to the price of gold. Im convinced the dollar is going to lose significant value over the next year, and gold will hit a record high, yet again.

I really hope you are wrong, as i have alot invested in these metals, and im definitely considering picking up some platinum now.

[Cowlesy]

Platinum is primarily used in catalytic converters I believe, so if you go from 17 million vehicle sales to about 11 million per year (and it may very well fall much further next year), your main driver for platinum demand is basically imploding.

As TW would say <IMHO>

[danberkeley]

Platinum is primarily used in catalytic converters I believe, so if you go from 17 million vehicle sales to about 11 million per year (and it may very well fall much further next year), your main driver for platinum demand is basically imploding.

As TW would say <IMHO>

True. BUt the demand for automobiles in China and Russia is growing.

[Dustancostine]

Also South Africa produces the majority of Platinum, last year they had major power outages at near the mines. The power was out almost two to three months I believe, which sent platinum on a skyrocket. Then when the power came back on, it fell like a brick.

[Dustancostine]

http://www.tigersoftware.com/TigerBlogs/02-24-08/

Great article explaining the platinum market.

[newyearsrevolution08]

So what we need to do is buy now and then pray for more power outages?

[echebota]

I think platinum group of metals is a dicent play now. But I'd suggest you pick palladium instead - I red that car manufacturered favor palladium to platinum at these price levels. Russian palladium stock pile is deminishing. Palladium jewelry polularity and depand is growing.

I'd say both palladium and platinum have some upside potential in 2009 and especially 2010-12, but palladium looks as a winner here.

[theoakman]

no, the trade of the decade is gold for silver. In fact, it's the trade of the millenium if you go by historical standards.

[echebota]

If anybody interetsed, I have several Platinum 1/2 oz Eagles for sale at $604 each -this is just $451 after live.com cashback. I'm selling some of my platunum to diversify and to buy some palladium.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=290277060182

[the count]

True. BUt the demand for automobiles in China and Russia is growing.

and even if the big 3 fail SOMEBODY will continue to make cars that we will drive or does anybody really believe we will all ride bikes or go back to horse carriages?

[weatherbill]

economics 101

platinum is an industrial metal, used in catalytic converters.

Gold does not have as much industrial use, but is the #1 medium of store value by banks and individuals.

The reaosn Gold has not dropped like platinum is becasue people are buying it like the dickens to hedge agains economic uncertianty, whether in a deflation or inflationary period..... people flee to gold when there is economic unrest.

Plus the factor that hedge funds are cashing out and buying the dollar and this, the strnegth of the dollar being bought plentifully by the hedge funds is keeping the price of gold low. This will not last and gold will continue north and as economic unrest continues, but first, the hedge funds still need some time to cash out, so I think this climb in gold friday will not last in the short run and we will see another dip time befor eit takes off, possibly on th ecoming hyperinflationary time coming, but it could be offset by the monster amount of ARMs coming in 2010 an d2011, which would cause banks to have to do write offs on their books from home defaults, which would then limit the amoun tof money they loan out ad thus, put a cap on inflation, so it may ballence out by 2010-11>>>> inflation vs ARMs holding it back........
There are alotta factors playing into these crazy times........ best to hold some gold for insurance reasons.

[WRellim]

What is causing this decrease in platinum prices? Any speculations? What would constitute another increase?

Well, to begin with it the spot price is essentially a "futures" market.

With the significant drop in production of automobiles (and the catalytic converters that use platinum and palladium) -- and the recession in the rest of the economy -- one could easily deduce that the likely cause is the fall in industrial demand. With the heavy run-up in price of all PM's a year ago, industrial concerns may very well have overbought not only inventory, but future production -- and if they are crunched for cash they could easily be selling some of that back into the market, further depressing the price.

And since, unlike Gold, platinum is even LESS utilized in jewelry or coins, it thus is much more likely to fluctuate with the industrial market demand and be a bit more volatile.

One WOULD normally expect this to flip back, but the game may end up being rather different. If we *do* transition away (especially if it occurs rapidly) from internal-combustion based automobiles, then once the economy recovers, the future industrial demand may not recover to previous levels, and demand may shift to metals and materials needed in the production (for instance) of batteries for electric cars, etc.

[RideTheDirt]

economics 101

platinum is an industrial metal, used in catalytic converters.

Gold does not have as much industrial use, but is the #1 medium of store value by banks and individuals.

The reaosn Gold has not dropped like platinum is becasue people are buying it like the dickens to hedge agains economic uncertianty, whether in a deflation or inflationary period..... people flee to gold when there is economic unrest.

Plus the factor that hedge funds are cashing out and buying the dollar and this, the strnegth of the dollar being bought plentifully by the hedge funds is keeping the price of gold low. This will not last and gold will continue north and as economic unrest continues, but first, the hedge funds still need some time to cash out, so I think this climb in gold friday will not last in the short run and we will see another dip time befor eit takes off, possibly on th ecoming hyperinflationary time coming, but it could be offset by the monster amount of ARMs coming in 2010 an d2011, which would cause banks to have to do write offs on their books from home defaults, which would then limit the amoun tof money they loan out ad thus, put a cap on inflation, so it may ballence out by 2010-11>>>> inflation vs ARMs holding it back........
There are alotta factors playing into these crazy times........ best to hold some gold for insurance reasons.

Gold is used in a lot of computer parts.
also in space
http://bullion.nwtmint.com/gold_uses.php

[MoneyWhereMyMouthIs2]

and even if the big 3 fail SOMEBODY will continue to make cars that we will drive or does anybody really believe we will all ride bikes or go back to horse carriages?

Give it a few years. lol