Five Charts Show Platinum Markets Coming to Life

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After months of being ignored in favor of market darling palladium, platinum is finally getting some attention from investors.

The metal, which is mostly used to make jewelry and reduce emissions from car exhausts, is trading near the highest since May and money is pouring into platinum-backed exchanged-traded funds. Prices have gained as expectations for tough wage negotiations this year in top producer South Africa raised the threat of supply disruptions, and platinum’s cheapness relative to other precious metals is also prompting a second look by investors.

“Platinum has been beaten up too much and became too cheap,” said Georgette Boele, a senior foreign-currency and precious-metals analyst at ABN Amro Bank NV. “The fundamentals are not as negative as perceived.”

Read more and see the charts here…