Are Platinum and Palladium Ready to Shine?

Platinum and palladium are often overshadowed by gold and silver, but tightening supply, shifting auto demand, and renewed industrial momentum may be changing the story. We explore whether these overlooked precious metals are positioned for a breakout in a world balancing EV adoption and macro uncertainty.

Summary – IBKR Podcasts Ep. 358

The following is a summary of a live audio recording and may contain errors in spelling or grammar. Although IBKR has edited for clarity no material changes have been made.

Jeff Praissman

Hi everyone, this is Jeff Praissman with Interactive Brokers. It’s my pleasure to welcome back to the IBKR Podcast Studio Will Rhind from GraniteShares. Hey, Will, how are you? 

Will Rhind

Good, thanks Jeff. All good, thank you! 

Jeff Praissman

It’s great to have you in for our monthly podcast on commodities. Today, we’re going to discuss platinum and palladium. I like to start with the basics. I think a lot of people have probably heard of platinum — maybe their wedding band is made from it — but perhaps not as many have heard about palladium. Or if they have, they’re probably a little unsure of what its uses are. Could you briefly tell our listeners what the main industrial uses for each metal are? 

Will Rhind

Happy to, Jeff. Both metals share some similarities. To start, they’re both precious metals and are included in that category along with silver and gold. However, they are different and, as you rightly pointed out, perhaps less well-known than their sister metals, silver and gold. Platinum is used for jewelry, investment demand, and industry. In fact, both platinum and palladium are much more industrial than, say, gold. They are used primarily in industry — especially in the automotive sector — as catalysts in catalytic converters. These are devices fitted on cars and trucks to clean emissions. 

Palladium, like platinum, has investment demand and some jewelry demand as well. So they are similar in terms of their demand profiles, albeit with some sectors favoring one over the other. 

Jeff Praissman

And you mentioned exposure to auto parts. Given that, are there any economic indicators — like auto sales data, mining supply reports, or ETF flows — that savvy investors should monitor? 

Will Rhind

Yes, I think with any commodity, you have to start with the basics, which is the supply and demand situation. Particularly in markets like these, where the metals are much smaller markets than something like gold, supply and demand fundamentals can play a much more outsized role. For any particular metal — and platinum and palladium are no exception — there’s an amount mined every year. There’s also supply that comes to market through recycling. Then you have demand factors: industrial demand, investment demand, and other sources such as jewelry. 

If you’re looking specifically at industrial demand through the automotive sector, investors can monitor vehicle sales globally. They can also look at emissions standards and how those are trending, because stricter emissions standards generally mean more metal is required in catalytic converters. Additionally, they can monitor jewelry demand trends and ETF and investment flows. 

Jeff Praissman

And where are platinum and palladium mined? Are they mined in the same regions? What are the main areas of mining for both? And in those areas, have there been any geopolitical issues that have affected pricing in the past year? What should investors be watching? 

Will Rhind

Both metals are quite similar in that the majority of global supply comes from just two countries: South Africa and Russia. We probably don’t need to go into detail regarding the geopolitical issues surrounding Russia — supply concerns, sanctions, and so forth. South Africa may be more interesting for those unfamiliar with the story. While it doesn’t face the same geopolitical issues as Russia, it has its own challenges. 

South Africa relies on older mining infrastructure and has significant issues with its power grid and energy infrastructure. Power supply to mines can be intermittent, and when supply is disrupted, production stops. That directly impacts the amount of metal that can be supplied to the market. Additionally, the mining sector can experience labor disputes and strikes, which can also disrupt supply. As a result, production is not always as efficient or consistent as projected. So both Russia and South Africa have their own challenges — different in nature — but in South Africa particularly, power and labor issues have historically been major contributors to supply disruptions. 

Jeff Praissman

Since late January, both platinum and palladium have experienced price declines. Last month, we talked about gold and silver’s relationship. Over the past year, which metal — platinum or palladium — has performed better? And how does last year compare to their pricing relationship over the past five years? 

Will Rhind

Over the past year, platinum has outperformed palladium. Platinum has definitely done better, though palladium has also performed well. Palladium is up around 60% over the last year, while platinum is up just over 100%. So both metals have performed strongly. This isn’t a market where only gold has gone to all-time highs and silver has been chasing it — now we’re seeing platinum and palladium starting to break out as well. 

Looking at the longer-term picture, it’s more mixed. Platinum has largely traded in a range for several years around the $1,000 level. Palladium has had a different trajectory over the last 10 years. It surged above $2,000 per ounce to all-time highs due to supply deficits, then collapsed, and now sits at a level where it’s beginning to appreciate again alongside platinum. So they’ve had somewhat different histories, but the broader message is that both metals are trading at a discount — from a valuation perspective — relative to gold and silver. Perhaps now is their time to shine. 

Jeff Praissman

And Will, you mentioned earlier that one of the main industrial uses for both platinum and palladium is catalytic converters. Is it fair to say that automakers — especially when palladium was at an all-time high — have been looking into substituting more platinum for palladium? Is this a zero-sum game for these metals? In other words, will gains in platinum eventually come at palladium’s expense, or vice versa? Or is it possible for both to rise or suffer over the long term? 

Will Rhind

The way to think about it is that it’s not a zero-sum game. Platinum, in particular, has very special qualities as a metal. Platinum is primarily used to clean emissions from heavier engines, which are diesel engines. 

You can use platinum to clean emissions from ICE, or internal combustion engine, gasoline vehicles. You can also use palladium for gasoline engines, but you can’t use palladium in the same way in diesel catalytic converters. So from that perspective, platinum dominates on the diesel side of the global market, while palladium is much more dominant on the gasoline side. To the extent there is substitution, it tends to revolve around the relative price differential between the two metals at any given time. With the caveat that automakers typically buy metals under multi-year contracts, so they’re not immediately sensitive to short-term price movements. It’s more of a longer-term adjustment. 

That’s one of the reasons platinum has been outperforming — it was trading at a discount to palladium, and automakers were substituting platinum for palladium. 

Jeff Praissman

Sticking with the auto theme, I think one thing people may not necessarily realize is that electric vehicles don’t require catalytic converters. EVs are significantly more popular than they were 10 years ago and seem to be trending in that direction. As more people adopt electric vehicles, is this an existential threat to palladium or platinum demand and catalytic converters in general? Are investors pricing in this risk, or do they see it as too far away to have a significant impact? 

Will Rhind

I think the way to think about it is that it very much was viewed as an existential risk, particularly under the last administration. But it wasn’t just that administration — it’s been a broader policy directive among major Western governments. Europe, for example, has been keen on the idea of banning or phasing out internal combustion engine vehicles, with timelines such as 2030 being set as a sort of line in the sand. Whether this shift is directly tied to the new administration or simply reflects the market getting ahead of itself, those timelines now appear to have been pushed back. We’ve moved from what was perhaps peak bearishness around traditional internal combustion engine vehicles to a more rational outlook. More broadly, the market now recognizes that the future of powertrains won’t be binary. In other words, there will likely continue to be a mix of ICE vehicles and electric vehicles. And increasingly, manufacturers are pivoting toward hybrids. 

Hybrid vehicles combine electric powertrains with internal combustion engines — and they still require catalytic converters. So we’ve moved away from the idea that EVs would completely take over and eliminate demand for these metals. That more rational outlook is helping support prices, along with other factors we’ve discussed. 

Jeff Praissman

Is it fair to say this could represent a potential buying opportunity for platinum and/or palladium? 

Will Rhind

I think so — especially in a market where gold and silver have raced to highs. Ordinarily, that alone might signal a buying opportunity in related metals. What’s particularly interesting about platinum and palladium is that the fundamental story has shifted. Both markets are currently in deficit, meaning demand exceeds supply. From a basic commodities perspective, Economics 101 would suggest that setup is positive for prices. 

Jeff Praissman

Our listeners are obviously interested in how to gain exposure to these metals. What are the main options — physical bullion, ETFs, mining stocks, futures contracts? And what are the pros and cons of each approach? 

Will Rhind

Let’s start with the simplest option. The good news is that ETFs are available for platinum and palladium, just like for gold and silver. Many listeners are likely already familiar with precious metals ETFs. These ETFs are backed by physical platinum and/or palladium held in vaults and track the spot price up or down. 

When it comes to mining companies, the situation is a bit more limited. These are smaller markets than gold and silver, so there are fewer companies that mine platinum and palladium. That means investors have fewer choices compared to gold and silver miners. The same applies to the coin and bar market. There are platinum and palladium coins available, and they are minted, but they are far less common than gold and silver coins. 

Jeff Praissman

How do platinum and palladium correlate with asset classes like stocks, bonds, and other commodities? Can they serve as effective portfolio diversifiers or inflation hedges, or do they behave differently? 

Will Rhind

It depends on the time horizon, but generally speaking, they tend to have a positive correlation with stocks — though typically a lower correlation. They’re a different asset class with different drivers. Platinum shares some correlation characteristics with gold, but because it has more industrial applications, it doesn’t behave as strongly as a safe haven asset. It has greater sensitivity to the business cycle and economic indicators. The same would apply to palladium as well. 

Will Rhind

Palladium has less jewelry use than platinum. Platinum has more investment and jewelry demand. But that being said, both are probably more correlated to industrial and economic factors, like the business cycle. 

Jeff Praissman

Right. And that leads perfectly to my next question. I wanted to ask you how big-picture macroeconomic factors — like interest rates, dollar strength, inflation expectations, and recession risks — impact platinum and palladium prices differently than gold. 

Will Rhind

It depends, but generally speaking, the impact would be similar. From a hard asset perspective, they share some of the same attributes as gold. If we’re talking specifically about interest rates, those will probably affect them in a similar way. Interest rates are largely an economic signal. Lower rates, all else equal, tend to signal more economic activity, which should benefit all of these metals — but particularly platinum and palladium, given their industrial uses. 

I think the more interesting question is around the dollar and the reindustrialization of the United States and Western countries. Particularly in the United States, if the administration is focused on bringing manufacturing back and becoming a manufacturing powerhouse again, that can really only mean one thing — the dollar would need to go lower. 

That’s a strategy China has pursued for years. To be an export-driven economy, it helps to have a competitive currency. I think that’s part of the reason why, since the administration came in, you’ve seen gold, silver, and other hard assets rally. Markets are anticipating a lower-dollar environment over time. 

Jeff Praissman

Will, I think we can skip question 11 since you already covered how platinum and palladium compare to gold and silver in the prior question. So I’ll finish with question 12. In our last podcast, we asked: Is silver ready to outrun gold? We focused on that more popular relationship between gold and silver — metals most people are familiar with. We talked about how they performed in 2025 at the beginning of the year. Since we last spoke in mid-January, how has each performed? 

Will Rhind

It’s fair to say there’s been huge volatility. Since both metals touched their respective highs this year, there’s been significant volatility, including days with substantial drawdowns in gold, but particularly in silver. To some degree, that’s not entirely unexpected. There’s been a huge amount of trading in silver, a huge amount of interest, and a surge in volatility. There was also a large increase in demand from Chinese investors, which pushed prices to highs. At the same time, there have been big speculators betting on prices going lower.  So it gives you kind of an idea of the fever pitch that was being experienced in the silver market where you had a silver ETF trait more than any other security, which is an incredible statistic.

Jeff Praissman

Yeah, that’s amazing. I never would have thought that. That’s incredible. Will, this has been great. Thank you so much for coming by the IBKR Podcast Studio. For more from Will Rhind, you can go to graniteshares.com. Or you can visit our website, click on Education, go to Campus, and find past podcasts, webinars, and articles from Will and GraniteShares. 

Thanks again so much. 

Will Rhind

Thanks, Jeff. Pleasure to be on.