Platinum a smart buy now that its the same as gold?

mash

Thoughts?

asin

log term play 2-3 years still down side until Africa heats up. Also auto sales suck economy must pick up.

fc

i think plat will drop to 650 before everything is said and done...
so know i would not buy yet to hold long term.

especially if you have to pay a large premium. if you are buying close
to spot.. this helps a lot!

storm888

I am heartily tempted.

But, I am going to wait for the first disbursements of the $25B
that has been approved for F and GM. If the govt decides the
money for "retooling" should be handed out, it will be time to
jump on platinum.

Loans to GMAC are NOT the signal. We need to see actual money
being spent on plants and equipment.

Deadhorse

<< <i>Thoughts? >>



In a word........... NO.

Catalytic converters and industrial scrubbers are now being manufactured using cheaper base matals.

I expect it will return to its previous place in the line of PMs and that is a bit more expensive than gold, regardless of where gold and silver go in the future. Don't expect a sudden return back to the 2K plus levels when gold approaches 1K again.

I don't believe it will happen.

jmski52

Platinum a smart buy now that its the same as gold?

I don't know. It seems pretty cheap, and the mine situation could rear its head again this summer (winter here). You would think that it's oversold at this point. I don't see platinum being replaced in that many applications. The economy is a big factor, and who the heck knows where that's going?

The election could have an impact. Doh.

Overdate

I found a website showing sources of platinum demand as of two years ago. I believe prices were higher then:

Link

I find it hard to envision an economic scenario that would cut overall demand by more than half from 2006 levels. Even if auto sales tank, there are plenty of other technological uses of platinum; and the lower the prices of platinum, the the greater the number of its uses that make economic sense. I would also expect jewelry demand to increase as prices decline and make such jewelry more affordable.

To some extent, platinum also functions as a precious metal store of value. Currently premiums for platinum coins are higher than those for gold coins. This indicates that at least some buyers consider platinum, at current prices, to be a better value than gold.

MoneyLA

I don't know the answer to this question, but I have this comment: over the last few years, the relationship of the prices of gold, silver and yes, platinum too, have been totally out of whack.

take for example the gold to silver price ratio. historically it was 17:1 or 20:1 and now its 81:1. Totally out of whack.

the gold to platinum ratio is near 1:1 and I don't remember it being like that. However, I have not followed platinum prices over the years and I would appreciate some more info about the gold to platinum ratio.

but even if the historical data shows platinum is now a steal based on the ratio, when I look at the gold to silver ratio I have to question the use of any "ratios" for making a decision.

ttown

I guess were about to find out but I think Gold is a better play, although I collect the US Plat series. IIRC Plat and Gold reached about the same prices in 79/80 and your seeing that heading that way today. Now last time you really couldn't compare the two for very long since it was such a short period for the spike. With the way the global ecomony is now and for at least a few years into the future demand for Plat will be way down. I'm thinking Gold and Platinum may be reversed on the next major spike, although I know some of you are starting to believe it won't happen again. JMO

secondrepublic

I've never understood the appeal of platinum... it's kind of ugly, IMHO.

Weg

Untill recently we've been in the wrong, as far as financial planners. Now alternative investments are accepted for 5 to 20%. The big word has been diversify. I agree, gold, silver, plat, and pall.

As far as plat and automotive, I thought I heard Europe is starting to use pall for diesel engines, which is really cheap now.
Who was the big investor that said to buy what everyone currently hates?

DeepCoin

I may be in the minority, but I think gold is over priced right now... or at least the flight to gold is holding up the price while other pms drop. Once we get past the current crisis, I suspect gold will move down and the more traditional pricing relationships will come back into play.