The Platinum Market
Critical Minerals and The Energy Transition
An introduction to platinum
Platinum is the primary revenue driver for South African mines. The metal was used extensively in catalytic converters to control toxic emissions from both gasoline and diesel cars, but over time palladium has increasingly become the metal of choice in gasoline vehicles and has also replaced some of the platinum in diesel cars. Platinum jewellery has become popular in China and its popularity is growing in India, while the use of platinum has continued to be critical in oil refining, glass manufacturing and medical applications. The commercialisation of fuel cells and production of green hydrogen is also a key end-use for platinum.
Listen to the latest platinum podcast
SFA's PGM experts, Dr Jenny Watts and Alex Biddle discuss the latest challenges and opportunities facing the PGM market.
Platinum price news and insights
SFA's latest podcast: PGM markets out to 2040
11 November 2024
The latest SFA podcast episode examines how evolving trends in transportation and energy are reshaping the platinum group metals markets.
The squeeze is on: Managing the margins
10 September 2024 | Dr Ralph Grimble
PGM miners’ revenues have collapsed with the fall in palladium and rhodium prices. The little-mentioned chrome has become an important contributor.
Iridium’s outlook linked to hydrogen economy wariness
21 October 2024 | SFA (Oxford) & Heraeus
Chinese heavy-duty vehicle platinum demand could be ready for a rise
7 October 2024 | SFA (Oxford) & Heraeus
Where does the palladium market go from here?
23 September 2024 | SFA (Oxford) & Heraeus
The Chinese car market in 2024 – PHEVs, subsidies and palladium
19 August 2024 | SFA (Oxford) & Heraeus
Platinum price in context, 1975 to 2023
Platinum market balance
koz | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023f | |
Primary platinum supply | |||||||||
Regional | |||||||||
South Africa | 4,265 | 4,385 | 4,470 | 4,405 | 3,260 | 4,715 | 3,980 | 4,105 | |
Russia | 715 | 720 | 665 | 710 | 700 | 640 | 655 | 610 | |
Zimbabwe | 490 | 480 | 465 | 460 | 480 | 470 | 495 | 515 | |
North America | 390 | 360 | 345 | 350 | 330 | 255 | 250 | 260 | |
Other | |||||||||
Total | 6,045 | 6,125 | 6,130 | 6,105 | 4,950 | 6,210 | 5,500 | 5,615 | |
Platinum demand and recycling |
|||||||||
Platinum autocatalyst demand | |||||||||
Gross Pt autocatalyst demand | 3,365 | 3,305 | 3,110 | 2,830 | 2,390 | 2,715 | 2,940 | 3,330 | |
Platinum autocatalst recycling | 1,210 | 1,325 | 1,420 | 1,495 | 1,300 | 1,415 | 1,160 | 1,135 | |
Net Pt autocatalyst demand | 2,150 | 1,980 | 1,690 | 1,335 | 1,090 | 1,295 | 1,780 | 2,195 | |
Platinum jewellery demand | |||||||||
Gross Pt jewellery demand | 2,510 | 2,450 | 2,245 | 2,090 | 1,560 | 1,780 | 1,650 | 1,620 | |
Platinum jewellery recycling | 625 | 560 | 505 | 500 | 410 | 400 | 345 | 345 | |
Net Pt jewellery demand | 1,885 | 1,890 | 1,740 | 1,595 | 1,150 | 1,380 | 1,305 | 1,275 | |
Industrial platinum demand | 1,970 | 1,845 | 1,965 | 2,010 | 1,990 | 2,215 | 2,235 | 2,275 | |
Hydrogen platinum demand | 45 | 50 | 70 | 45 | 45 | 50 | 90 | 110 | |
Other platinum recycling | 25 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 45 | 40 | 40 | |
Gross platinum demand | 7,890 | 7,650 | 7,385 | 6,975 | 5,985 | 6,760 | 6,910 | 7,330 | |
Platinum recycling | 1,860 | 1,915 | 1,955 | 2,020 | 1,745 | 1,860 | 1,545 | 1,520 | |
Net platinum demand | 6,030 | 5,735 | 5,435 | 4,950 | 4,235 | 4,900 | 5,365 | 5,810 | |
Platinum market balance | |||||||||
Platinum balance (before ETFs) | 15 | 390 | 695 | 1,155 | 710 | 1,310 | 135 | -195 | |
Platinum ETFs (stock allocation) | -10 | 100 | -240 | 995 | 505 | -265 | -565 | ||
Platinum balance after ETFs | 20 | 295 | 935 | 160 | 210 | 1.575 | 705 | -195 | |
Platinum price history | |||||||||
Platinum price (USD/oz) | 1,053 | 988 | 948 | 879 | 864 | 884 | 961 | ||
Platinum price (GBP/oz) | 689 | 732 | 737 | 658 | 677 | 688 | 778 | ||
Platinum price (EUR/oz) | 948 | 892 | 842 | 744 | 772 | 774 | 912 | ||
Platinum price (CHF/oz) | 1,012 | 972 | 934 | 859 | 858 | 829 | 996 | ||
Platinum price (CNY/oz) | 6,609 | 6,560 | 6,046 | 5,805 | 5,92 | 6,091 | 6,461 | ||
Platinum price (ZAR/oz) | 13,355 | 14,480 | 12,620 | 11,579 | 12,488 | 14,458 | 15,699 | ||
Platinum price (INR/oz) | 67,359 | 66,328 | 61,767 | 59,954 | 60,833 | 65,449 | 80,538 | ||
Platinum price (JPY/oz) | 127,334 | 107,056 | 106,347 | 96,998 | 94,166 | 94,371 | 125,939 | ||
Source: SFA (Oxford). Updated September 2022.
Linked platinum market reports
SFA (Oxford) provides regular bespoke market intelligence reports on platinum as well as in-depth studies on recycling, metal flows and price setting.
Meet the PGM team
Trusted advice from a dedicated team of experts.
Henk de Hoop
Chief Executive Officer
Beresford Clarke
Managing Director: Technical & Research
Dr Ralph Grimble
Operations Director
Dr Jenny Watts
Head of Clean Energy & Sustainability
Jamie Underwood
Principal Consultant
Rj Coetzee
Senior Market Analyst: Battery Materials and Technologies
Adele Rouleau
ESG and Critical Minerals Lead
Oksan Atilan
Consulting Automotive Analyst
Alex Biddle
Senior Mining Analyst
Dr Sandeep Kaler
Market Strategy Analyst
Daniel Croft
Commodity Analyst
David Mobbs
Head of Marketing
Joel Lacey
Sales and Marketing Specialist
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