Investors take profits from platinum but tailwinds persist

A RECOVERY in supply and reduced investor demand resulted in an oversupply of platinum in the first quarter of this year, said the World Platinum Investment Council in an update on Friday.However, the precious metal was heading for a fourth consecutive deficit this year with a “reversal of Q1 trends” expected in the remainder of the year. A deficit of 297,000 ounces in 2026 has been forecast by the council.The major factor in the first quarter that will be absent for the remainder of the year was the 18% supply growth, especially from South Africa. Supply will be only 2% higher for the year compared to 2025, even factoring in an increase from recycling, the WPIC said.However, investor redemptions will be a theme for the year. The WPIC expects to see ETF holders more than halve volumes in 2026. In absolute numbers this is small, however – 100,000 oz in each of exchange stocks and ETFs as tariff-related concerns recede and investors look to take profits on the higher platinum price.In fact, the mood in the platinum market remains elevated days ahead of London Platinum Week, due to kick off on May 18.“I think everyone’s still very constructive on the underlying fundamentals of platinum,” said Ed Sterck, director of research at the WPIC in an interview. “We’ve got very constrained supply, a little bit of recovery in recycling driven by higher prices, and demand is largely price-inelastic,” he said.The platinum price has doubled since May last year although in the last month it has weakened, down 2%. René Hochreiter, an analyst for Noah Capital, while bullish on the long term fundamentals for platinum group metals, said in a recent note that the commodities trade was “on hold” owing to interest in oil, stoked by the Middle East conflict.“Platinum’s price performance in 2025 and robust levels in 2026 have significantly increased global attention on its investment potential,” said Trevor Raymond, CEO of the WPIC. “A far wider cohort of investors is now actively considering platinum’s precious attributes together with its compelling supply and demand fundamentals, as ETF demand in 2025 and this year’s expected bar and coin strength highlight,” he said.The post Investors take profits from platinum but tailwinds persist appeared first on Miningmx.Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com