By Andrew Bary

Platinum prices are starting to rise, and the rally could have legs. It has been a while since it was a precious-metal king. In May 2014, platinum traded for $1,500 an ounce, $200 more than gold. But since then, it has trailed gold. On Thursday, gold was at $3,323 an ounce, and platinum, $1,017.

Platinum supply runs about seven million ounces annually from mining and recycling, compared with more than 100 million ounces of gold. Platinum has been in deficit for the past two years, meaning that demand has exceeded supply and the market has been drawing down aboveground stocks. The World Platinum Investment Council estimates that the deficit will continue in 2025.

One reason: More than half of mined platinum comes from South Africa, where mines are often old, deep, and expensive to operate. The WPIC sees mined supply falling 6% this year to 5.4 million ounces. Unlike gold, platinum lacks central bank demand. Some 40% of demand comes from car catalytic converters, threatened by electric vehicles, which lack converters. But EV sales have stalled, and popular hybrids use converters.

Meanwhile, Chinese buyers priced out of gold are turning to platinum. The largest platinum exchange-traded fund, Abrdn Physical Platinum Shares, hit a 52-week high this past week and is up 18% in 2025. As Aberdeen's director of ETF investment strategy, Bob Minter, says, "For platinum investors, the long wait may be over."

Write to Andrew Bary at andrew.bary@barrons.com

Last Week

Markets

On Monday, markets digested Moody's U.S. debt downgrade and the passage through a House committee of Republicans' tax and budget bill. Longer-dated Treasury yields climbed to 5% and the dollar fell. Stocks edged up slightly, then fell on Tuesday, ending a six-day win streak. A 20-year Treasury auction struggled on Wednesday. Early Thursday morning, the GOP House passed the bill, and long bonds sold off again. On Friday, President Donald Trump called for 50% tariffs on the European Union and 25% on smartphones made abroad; stocks fell. On the week, the Dow industrials shed 2.5%, the S&P 500 2.6%, and the Nasdaq Composite 2.5%.

Companies

The United Kingdom and European Union signed a trade and security pact. China battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology, or CATL, raised $4.6 billion in a Hong Kong listing, the year's largest. UnitedHealth Group stock rallied, then fell on more fraud allegations. The Interior Department pulled a stop-work order for New York's Empire Wind power project, allowing Equinor to resume construction. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang called U.S. chip export controls on China "a failure."

Deals

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals is buying 23andMe out of bankruptcy for $256 million...The Wall Street Journal reported chip component maker Wolfspeed will file for bankruptcy soon...Trump teased privatizing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and tweeted that U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel will form a "partnership."

Next Week

Monday 5/26

Equity and fixed-income markets are closed in observance of Memorial Day.

Tuesday 5/27

The Census Bureau releases the durable goods report for April. Consensus estimate is for new orders for manufactured durable goods to decline 8%, after a 7.5% jump in March. The March spike was most likely a byproduct of tariff front-running.

Wednesday 5/28

The Federal Open Market Committee releases the minutes from its early-May monetary-policy meeting.

Nvidia and Salesforce release their quarterly results after the closing bell on Wednesday, while Costco Wholesale and Dell Technologies do the same on Thursday.

Friday 5/30

The Bureau of Economic Analysis releases the personal consumption expenditures price index for April. Economists forecast a 2.2% year-over-year increase, one-tenth of a percentage point less than in March. The core PCE index, which excludes food and energy prices, is expected to rise 2.5%, compared with 2.6% previously.

The Numbers

51%

Trump administration reductions in grants funded by the National Science Foundation through May 21.

62

Index of software jobs listed on Indeed on May 16, down from a March 2022 high of 232. One reason: AI.

10

Percentage points by which the S&P 500 trailed global stocks this past week, the most since 1993.

$2.3 T

Congressional Budget Office projection of the addition to the deficit over 10 years from the House tax bill.

Write to Robert Teitelman at bob.teitelman@dowjones.com

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May 23, 2025 19:11 ET (23:11 GMT)

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