Platinum vs. Gold 2025: Which precious metal offers better opportunities?

The Current Precious Metals Market: Platinum Gains Ground

The precious metals markets are experiencing an exciting development in 2025. Gold remains stable above $3,300 per ounce, while Silver has surpassed the $38 mark. However, while these two classics regularly come into focus, Platinum is often overlooked – despite showing impressive movements in 2025.

The question arises: What is better, gold or platinum as an investment? The answer is not easy, as both metals follow different market dynamics.

The Historical Roots: Platinum Was Once King

To understand today’s market position, it’s worth looking back. In the 19th century, platinum was still a niche product as a physical investment – the first government-issued platinum coin came from Russia in 1828. After a drastic price decline due to export bans, the metal experienced a renaissance only in the 20th century.

A milestone was 1902: The patenting of the Ostwald process for nitric acid production opened new industrial applications. In 1924, Platinum reached six times the gold price. After the turmoil of war and crisis, the market stabilized again from 2000 onward. In March 2008, the metal hit its all-time high of $2,273 per ounce – driven by fears of financial crises and supply shortages.

Gold, on the other hand, had a gentler curve. Since 2019, it has consistently reached new record highs, recently exceeding $3,500 in April 2025.

2025: The Great Platinum Dynamics

The price development in 2025 shows a clear picture: Platinum started the year at just under $900 and climbed to $1,450 by July – an increase of over 50%. This momentum results from several factors:

• Supply crisis in South African mines
• Structural deficit: The World Platinum Investment Council expects a demand of 7,863 koz in 2025 with only 7,324 koz supply – a shortfall of 539 koz
• Extreme physical scarcity, visible in high leasing rates
• Stable demand, especially from China and the jewelry segment
• Weak US dollar, making commodities cheaper
• Strong ETF inflows into the investment segment

Gold or Platinum? – The Fundamental Differences

Gold shines as a pure investment and inflation hedge instrument. Its value development is primarily driven by capital market dynamics.

Platinum has an additional factor: it is also a consumable. Demand comes not only from investors but also from:

• Automotive industry (41% of demand in 2025): Diesel catalysts, despite decline due to electromobility
• Industry (28%): Chemical manufacturing, fertilizer production
• Jewelry (25%): Elegant alternative to gold
• Future technologies: Fuel cells and green hydrogen require platinum

This dual nature makes Platinum more volatile. During booms, demand surges, and shortages drive prices higher. During recessions, the consumable segment diminishes, which slows the price.

The Platinum-Gold Ratio: A Warning Signal?

Since 2011, the platinum-gold ratio has been negative – the longest period of weakness in their combined price history. While Gold continuously reached new heights, Platinum hovered around $1,000. This is changing now, but it shows: What is better? depends on the timing.

Long-term investors use these episodes: They buy Platinum during weak phases and benefit from explosive rallies during upswings.

Forecast 2025: Neutral to Slightly Positive for Platinum

The prospects favor stability with upside potential:

• The structural deficit will persist until at least 2029
• Production capacities are limited and cannot be quickly expanded
• Recycling could grow by about 12%, easing some pressure

Risks also exist: after the rapid rally, consolidation risk increases. Profit-taking could be intense. Additionally, industrial demand depends heavily on US-China trade dynamics – here, tariff policies could further exacerbate an expected -9% decline.

Investing in Platinum: The Right Strategy

For active traders

Platinum CFDs offer the highest leverage. A popular strategy uses moving averages (10 and 30): buy signals occur when the fast crosses above the slow from below. Sell signals when it crosses back down.

Risk management is essential:

• Risk only 1-2% of total capital per trade
• Set stop-loss levels (e.g., 2% below entry)
• Work with moderate leverage (5x is a common standard)

Example: With €10,000 capital and a 1% risk limit (€100), the position size should not exceed €1,000.

For conservative investors

Platinum ETCs/ETFs allow easy portfolio integration without storage complexity. Also, physical platinum and shares of platinum mining companies are alternatives – the latter combine commodity exposure with company risk.

A small allocation to gold can be sensible: The different demand dynamics offer diversification and can act as a hedge during downturns.

Conclusion: What is better?

The answer depends on the investor type:

• Gold is more reliable, less volatile, a pure capital market instrument
• Platinum offers more opportunities during upswings but is riskier, with genuine scarcity in 2025

Both can play roles in a portfolio – Gold as an anchor, Platinum as a position builder in structurally tight markets. The current supply crisis and ETF inflows make Platinum worth watching in 2025.