Platinum vs Gold 2025 Investment Comparison: Which Precious Metal is More Worth Paying Attention To?

New Developments in the Precious Metals Market

The current precious metals market is experiencing a period of prosperity. Gold prices remain stable above $3,300 per ounce, silver has broken through the $38 mark, and the often-overlooked platinum is also entering its moment. Comparing gold and platinum, the two major investment options, reveals different underlying logic and potential.

Price Trajectory Comparison of Platinum and Gold in 2025

The historical relationship between gold and platinum is intriguing. Once, platinum was the more expensive precious metal—its price exceeded $1,500 per ounce in 2014, far surpassing gold at the time. However, their performance over the past decade has been vastly different.

Gold has demonstrated remarkable upward momentum. After entering 2024, gold hit new highs, and by April 2025, it broke through a new record of $3,500 per ounce. In contrast, platinum’s decade-long trend has been like a roller coaster: it dipped below $600 at the beginning of 2020, then fluctuated around $1,000 for years.

It wasn’t until early 2025 that the situation reversed. In January, platinum hovered around $900, but by mid-July, prices surged to $1,450 per ounce—an increase of over 50% in half a year. What is driving this?

Key Factors Behind the Surge in Platinum Prices

The strong performance of platinum in 2025 is not accidental but the result of multiple factors stacking perfectly:

Supply-side pressures

• Production restrictions in major sources like South Africa
• Structural supply gaps continuing to widen
• Physical inventories extremely tight, borrowing rates at historic highs

Demand-side support

• Unexpectedly stable demand from China and the jewelry sector
• Significant increase in ETF inflows (investment funds)
• Weakening US dollar boosting dollar-denominated precious metals

Macroeconomic backdrop

• Rising geopolitical uncertainties
• Variable global economic growth expectations

In-Depth Comparison: Investment Attributes of Platinum and Gold

From an investment perspective, gold and platinum each have their strengths:

Gold serves as the “king of safe havens” and a “hedge against inflation.” Its value is highly dependent on global risk appetite and monetary policy directions.

Platinum is a “industrial precious metal + safe haven asset” hybrid. As an industrial raw material, platinum is widely used in automotive catalysts, medical implants, chemical manufacturing, fuel cells, and green hydrogen. This gives platinum an independent driving force at different stages of the economic cycle.

Interestingly, platinum’s rarity exceeds that of gold, yet its long-term price performance has been lackluster—since 2011, the platinum-to-gold ratio has remained at historically low levels. This valuation imbalance offers opportunities for discerning investors.

The main reason for platinum’s prolonged weakness in recent years has been sluggish diesel vehicle sales (since platinum is mainly used in diesel engine catalysts). The reversal in 2025 is precisely due to a supply crisis overshadowing weak demand fundamentals.

Outlook for the Platinum Market in 2025

According to data from the World Platinum Investment Council, the 2025 platinum market landscape is as follows:

Demand side - Total expected demand: 7,863 thousand ounces

• Automotive sector (41%): 3,245 thousand ounces, up 2% YoY
• Industrial applications (28%): 2,216 thousand ounces, down 9% YoY
• Jewelry sector (25%): 1,983 thousand ounces, up 2% YoY
• Investment demand (6%): 420 thousand ounces, up 7% YoY

Supply side - Total expected supply: 7,324 thousand ounces

• New supply growth of only about 1%
• Recycling sector may grow by 12%

This results in a structural gap of 539 thousand ounces in the platinum market in 2025. Due to significant difficulties in expanding production capacity, this gap may persist until 2029.

Risk warning: Since mid-July, platinum has surged significantly, increasing the risk of correction. Previous speculative buying may take profits, especially if the US dollar strengthens, industrial demand deteriorates, or supply-side easing signs emerge.

Multiple Ways to Invest in Platinum

For Short-term Traders

The high volatility of platinum is attractive to active traders. Compared to gold and silver, platinum’s price swings are larger, creating opportunities for technical trading.

Trend strategy based on moving averages — a practical example:

• Use 10-day and 30-day moving averages
• Buy when the fast line crosses above the slow line from below
• Use 5x leverage to establish positions
• Sell when the fast line crosses below the slow line from above

Proper risk management

• Limit risk per trade to 1-2% of total account
• Example (account €10,000):
  • Max risk per trade: €100 (1%)
  • Set stop-loss at 2% below entry point
  • 2% price movement × 5x leverage = 10% position loss
  • Max leveraged position size: €1,000

Contracts for Difference (CFDs) and futures are common tools for executing such strategies. Many online trading platforms offer low entry thresholds starting from €1.

For Long-term Allocators

For risk-averse investors, platinum can serve as a hedge within an existing portfolio. Its independent supply and demand dynamics make it less correlated with equities.

Suitable long-term investment tools:

• Platinum ETFs/ETCs (easy to trade within brokerage accounts)
• Physical platinum (stored in approved vaults)
• Stocks of platinum producers

Allocation suggestions:

• The proportion of platinum varies per individual, based on risk tolerance
• Combining with other precious metals yields better diversification and reduces portfolio volatility
• Regular rebalancing to maintain target allocations

Given platinum’s high volatility, pure platinum positions may be too aggressive; a mixed allocation with gold and silver is more prudent.

Investment Decision Framework

Whether for short-term trading or long-term allocation, platinum investments should follow these principles:

Market monitoring checklist:

• US dollar trend (a strengthening dollar typically depresses precious metals)
• Platinum lending rates (reflecting physical supply tightness)
• US and China industrial policies and trade relations
• Global automotive electrification progress

Review and outlook: Both platinum and gold are traditional safe-haven assets, but their driving mechanisms differ. Gold is mainly influenced by liquidity and risk appetite, while platinum is driven by industrial prosperity and financial attributes. In the unique context of 2025, a supply crisis in platinum has temporarily overshadowed weak demand fundamentals, but long-term trends require close attention to the US dollar, industrial policies, and supply developments.

For most investors, adding a moderate allocation of platinum to an existing gold position can enhance portfolio diversification. However, it’s important to recognize that precious metals markets carry inherent risks, and any allocation decision should be based on individual investment goals, risk tolerance, and market understanding.