Platinum : The Still Overlooked Store of Value

newsletter # 8

Platinum is gaining recognition as a strategic store of value and a quasi-monetary hard asset, supported by years of supply deficits and rising global demand, yet remains largely overlooked by precious metal analysts

Platinum : The Still Overlooked Store of Value

Platinum is emerging as a compelling store of value, quietly gaining traction with allocators seeking alternatives to gold amid global uncertainty and fiat debasement. Despite platinum’s similar store of value to gold, mainstream analysts and most of the precious metals world remain so far fixated on gold, overlooking platinum’s growing investment appeal. Leading banks now start to identify platinum as a “quasi-monetary hard asset” and “scarcity-backed store of value,” reflecting how market sentiment is beginning to shift.

Value Recognized, but Not Yet Mainstream

Platinum’s strategic importance is still underestimated in the wider financial press.
Yet, investor and jewellery demand are already starting to underpin a robust price advance, even as many analysts lag behind events. Unlike speculative manias, the present move is grounded in years of supply deficits, global demand growth, and the emerging recognition of platinum’s resilience as a hedge against systemic risk. With modest investment inflows and jewellery demand surging, platinum is being slowly but steadily redefined as a strategic asset, now at the eve of earning broader recognition as a true store of value.

China Sets the Pace

Chinese buyers now account for 64% of global platinum bar and coin demand, up from just 11% in 2019. Larger investment bars (500g+) have attracted high-net-worth investors, and Chinese platinum imports rose by 27% from 2020 to 2024.

Notably, China may be building a strategic platinum reserve given its lack of domestic platinum supplies and rising hydrogen-linked demand. The World Platinum Investment Council projects investment demand in China could grow by over 20% in 2025.

Platinum Will Continue to Outperform Gold

Platinum’s fundamental setup marked by consecutive market deficits and emerging investment demand suggests it will continue to deliver stronger returns than gold, especially as investors seek diversification and value in the precious metals space.

While gold trades at a substantial premium against production costs, platinum’s discount to gold is now drawing investors, particularly in China, into physical bars and coins at an accelerating rate. While platinum trades close to production cost and demand broadens against a backdrop of stagnant South African and Russian output—the white metal’s revival is set to extend, offering the early investors upside and potential for significant relative gains over gold as market conditions evolve.

The following hard data underpinning platinum’s case over gold as an investment highlight its superior scarcity and upside value potential:

ANNUAL GLOBAL GOLD PRODUCTION: 116,300,000 OUNCES
ANNUAL GLOBAL PLATINUM PRODUCTION: 5,430,000 OUNCES

VALUE OF ANNUAL GOLD PRODUCTION: $498,100,000,000 USD
VALUE OF ANNUAL PLATINUM PRODUCTION: $8,000,000,000 USD

TOTAL ABOVE-GROUND GOLD STOCK: 7,000,000,000 OUNCES
TOTAL ABOVE-GROUND PLATINUM STOCK: 9,200,000 OUNCES

The superior fundamental support of platinum lies in relative production economics:

PRODUCTION COST OF GOLD: ~$1,300 USD
MARKET PRICE OF GOLD: ~$4,250 USD

PRODUCTION COST OF PLATINUM: ~$1,100 USD
MARKET PRICE OF PLATINUM: ~$1,600 USD