Platinum is attracting the renewed interest of investors globally for cleaner energy and diminishing demand of heavenly asset which uplifts the demand for the precious metal. So far this month, the price of platinum has rallied 14 per cent, despite edging 0.5 per cent down on Friday to $964.80 a troy ounce.
US President-elect Joe Biden promises to spend $2 trillion on green energy which has driven up the prices of platinum in recent weeks. Platinum has its industrial uses, as well as demand from investors, benefit in long term for a global push towards renewable energy, analysts said.
This month, promising results came from the Covid-19 vaccine trials which boosted the global economic outlook as a result demand for gold started waning. Last week, the price of gold fell 4.8 per cent to $1,781.90, its lowest settlement ever since July 1. Gold had hit a record high in the summer and now, the selloff in the safe-haven assets prompts investors to bet for other precious metals hoping it to soon climb.
Platinum was the most expensive metal of the major precious metals less than 10 years ago. It is used as a catalyst to filter out harmful emissions from car exhausts. Its higher price prompted many automakers to go with cheaper alternatives like palladium which declined its demand. Since then, platinum prices slipped and have been largely flat since 2015. But, the Covid-19 pandemic has increased the demand and supply for platinum and is expected to lead its record shortage this year.