Investors worried about the post-coronavirus crisis search for safe-haven assets. It is felt in gold, silver and platinum prices. In the case of platinum, the rates have skyrocketed. There is a supply concern for the commodity since there is a shortage of mines that mint them.
Platinum bullion sales have soared in recent months. A few weeks ago, the sales figures of the American Eagle platinum had been the highest in 20 years.
Now, new South African platinum bullion is debuting with enormous success. The program includes the launch of a new platinum coin every six months, between 2020 and 2022. The Somalian Platinum Elephant Series is one of the brightest stars of the precious metals market.
Trevor Raymond, research director of the World Investment Board Platinum, stated that the elephant platinum bullion is absolutely exhausted.
According to Raymond, the situation of the precious metals industry caused by the coronavirus does not allow exports or increase production. So, the emission of the bullion has been exhausted as soon as it was put on sale. There has been a high demand for gold, silver and platinum coins. Due to the impossibility of acquiring them, platinum coins appealed higher premiums, said the director of the WPIC.
The latest report on the platinum market published a few days ago by WPIC, revealed that in the first three months of the year, investment in bullion and coins of this metal had reached 312,000 ounces. The number is 300% higher than that registered in the same period of 2019.
For the year, demand for physical platinum is forecast to reach 605,000 ounces. It would be 115% more than last year’s total, thanks to the fact that the price of platinum is below gold and palladium. It has occurred very few times in history.
One of the most active markets for buying platinum bullion and coins is Japan. Japanese investors tend to purchase platinum when the price falls below 4,000 yen a gram. The prices of the metal have recently halved, that resulted in boosted sales.
