Platinum spot price in USD is hovering around $1,405.8 per ounce. On the New York Stock Exchange, the physically backed platinum ETF, ETFS Physical Platinum Shares (NYSEArca: PPLT), has gained 1.1% year-to-date. [ETF Chart of the Day: All That Glitters]
“The key thing that has changed in the last couple of weeks is that the rand has blown out against the U.S. dollar,” Justin Froneman, an analyst at SBG Securities, said in the article. “The rand platinum price has gone up, and there was quite a lot of profit sitting on the table.”
South Africa is the world’s largest miner of platinum, producing about three quarters of global supply. Platinum prices have been strengthening on concerns over strikes and labor problems at South African mines. [Enthusiasm Lacking for Commodities ETFs Heading Into 2014]
For more information on platinum, visit our platinum category.
Max Chen contributed to this article.