Online Reporter
Silver extended gains to trade just below a 13-year high while platinum hit highest level in more than two years, signalling growing investor appetite for precious metals used by the industrial sector.
Spot silver rose on Friday, following a 4,5 percent move in the previous session that saw it edge above $36 an ounce for the first time since February 2012. Platinum’s rally continued, gaining as much as 1.2 percent to a high of $1 154,73 an ounce.
The commodities were aided by technical momentum across the metals complex as well as improving fundamentals, with strong appetite for physical silver in India and resurgent Chinese platinum demand reinforcing the rallies, according to a note from Nicky Shiels, head of metals strategy at Geneva-based MKS PAMP SA.
Silver — and oftentimes platinum — tend to trade in tandem with gold, which is seen as a time-honoured haven in times of geopolitical uncertainty. Gold is up more than 40 percent in the past 12 months, as an expanding US-led tariff war boosted its safety appeal and central banks maintained elevated levels of buying.
While silver and platinum — up 19 percent and 13 percent, respectively, in the 12-month period to Thursday — have lagged behind their more expensive precious metal peer, they are also valued by the industrial sector.
Silver is a key ingredient in solar panels, while platinum is used in catalytic converters and laboratory equipment. Both markets are heading for a deficit this year, following several years where demand has outstripped supply.
A hold above $35 remains a “critical inflection point” for silver, and if sustained should reignite sidelined retail interest, MKS PAMP’s Shiels said. Meanwhile, a potential renewal in demand for platinum-backed exchange-traded funds could produce a speculative rally, given sticky and elevated lease rates indicate the market is tightening, she added. — Bloomberg
