price of platinum going up.....why?

[doctork]

Why is the price of platinum going up so fast lately?

I don''t follow the metal market, so someone please enlighten me.

http://www.kitco.com/LFgif/pt0182nyb.gif

Is it supposed to come down anytime in the next year?

 

[Nicki]

Huge amounts of platinum go to towards the manufacture car catalytic converters. With a very rapidly expanding driver base in China and India, there is a lot of additional pressure being put on platinum supplies. The weak dollar isn't helping matters. Price of oil is also a contributor, as it's impacting the cost of getting platinum out of the ground.

 

[MikeRato1]

that is crazy, i got quoted on a setting in late december but by the time i was ready to purchase (mid february) the price went up $420
unreal!

 

[lisa1.01fvs1]

Global markets. People in steadily growing middle class India, China, etc. are wanting gold, plat. + you guessed it diamonds as their economic status increases!

Soon the US will be out-blinged by the non-recession countries.

According to Rapaport places like T&co. will not pass on higher prices to the consumer yet -- it will take some time to filter through their retail structure.

So beware of vendors wanting to hike it up yet. You should definitely shop around.

 

[Diamond*Dana]

Date: 2/28/2008 1:58:15 PM
Author: MikeRato1
that is crazy, i got quoted on a setting in late december but by the time i was ready to purchase (mid february) the price went up $420
unreal!

Wow, that is some price jump! And in such a short time!

 

[MikeRato1]

agreed! luckily the jewelery store emailed me the quoted price back around xmas so they told me i can keep that pricepoint

 

[jackk]

I invest in precious metals so I know about the current state of platinum.

There are a couple of reasons.

1) In Africa, where most of platinum is mined, the mines are having storms and power outages and other problems that they don't think will be fixed untill at least 2012. That are not mining nearly what is being demanded.

2) Because the dolar is falling, some people buy it as a hedge against inflation.

3)It is used for many purposes.

Basically right now demand exeeds supply.

 

[choro72]

Economy. US Dollar is steadily losing value.

 

[jackk]

Date: 2/28/2008 3:18:59 PM
Author: choro72
Economy. US Dollar is steadily losing value.

This is true too. With our declining dollar every day that passes 1 American dollar buys you less than it did before. As the dollar falls; platinum, gold, silver, euro, etc. rises in comparison to our dollar.

This, along with what I said above is why the platinum prices are going up. Platinum is going up way faster than inflation. (also keep in mind platinum has stayed pretty solid for roughly a week)

 

[gastro]

Why is this happening when I''m about to buy my ring...darn economy.

 

[jackk]

Some people think that precious metals are going to explode into way higher prices, especially since the platinum shortage won''t be fixed till 2012. So maybe six months after you buy your ring platinum will be at $3,500 and you can be glad you bought it when you did

.

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 2/28/2008 3:31:07 PM
Author: jackk
Some people think that precious metals are going to explode into way higher prices, especially since the platinum shortage won''t be fixed till 2012. So maybe six months after you buy your ring platinum will be at $3,500 and you can be glad you bought it when you did

.

bunch of people are going to lose their shirts also.
ask the people that remember one of the 15 or so spikes in the last 100 years and invested.
As of the middle of this year its doubtful it will be used in any car sold in the US.
Most of the Japanese car makers have already began switching over.
The current price is pure speculation.

 

[jackk]

Date: 2/28/2008 3:40:05 PM
Author: strmrdr

Date: 2/28/2008 3:31:07 PM
Author: jackk
Some people think that precious metals are going to explode into way higher prices, especially since the platinum shortage won''t be fixed till 2012. So maybe six months after you buy your ring platinum will be at $3,500 and you can be glad you bought it when you did

.

bunch of people are going to lose their shirts also.
ask the people that remember one of the 15 or so spikes in the last 100 years and invested.
As of the middle of this year its doubtful it will be used in any car sold in the US.
Most of the Japanese car makers have already began switching over.
The current price is pure speculation.

It could really go either way for platinum but my guess is its going up (note I don''t even have any). Most analysts are also saying its going to go up.

As for other PM''s Gold and silver are still very low priced when you consider their past highs and factor inflation in.

 

[doctork]

Date: 2/28/2008 3:27:31 PM
Author: gastro
Why is this happening when I''m about to buy my ring...darn economy.

Me too! I wasn''t planning on buying the ring this early....but now that I see these prices I''m tempted to before I lose even more money to the platinum prices.

 

[choro72]

Date: 2/28/2008 3:27:31 PM
Author: gastro
Why is this happening when I''m about to buy my ring...darn economy.

This is exactly what we were saying!!

 

[krisvrn]

Can someone also explain why the price of gold is going up? Sorry if this is not a good thread to ask this questions and I should have just started another one but I thought it all pertained to prices going up...

Thanks.

 

[musey]

So my question is... I was planning to buy my plat wedding band in September, should I do it now/soon? (So as to avoid the future price increase)

 

[choro72]

Date: 2/28/2008 5:43:03 PM
Author:krisvrn
Can someone also explain why the price of gold is going up? Sorry if this is not a good thread to ask this questions and I should have just started another one but I thought it all pertained to prices going up...

Thanks.

Same reason as Platinum...

 

[LegacyGirl]

Blame it on the "new" US Peso

 

[doctork]

Date: 2/28/2008 5:54:21 PM
Author: musey
So my question is... I was planning to buy my plat wedding band in September, should I do it now/soon? (So as to avoid the future price increase)

Exactly what I am thinking...I''m just afraid that if I sit on a ring for that long that something bad is bound to happen. Keeping secrets are hard!

 

[joflier]

Date: 2/28/2008 6:05:00 PM
Author: LegacyGirl
Blame it on the ''new'' US Peso

LOL!!! That''s funny.
I have a friend that inherited lot of gold a few years back when it was around $400 an ounce. He was going to sell out, but he decided to wait. He''s a very happy man right now.
Even the prices of non-precious metals have risen. (steel, copper,etc) For us that was nice, as we had a lot of scrap to sell.

 

[Beacon]

Yes, there are people using gold as an inflation hedge and yes the US dollar is weak and to blame, but the real thing causing the very sudden uptick on platinum prices is the power disaster in South Africa. Read below:

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/platinum-miners-halt-output-due/story.aspx?guid={E27DD551-A026-4FEA-A1EF-3768BFE52E02}&dist=TQP_Mod_mktwN

I do not know how long this will continue and it seems improbable that it should go on for truly extended periods of time, but it is causing havoc with supply at the moment.