Platinum currently at lowest ever level against gold

Platinum and palladium are under even more pressure than gold and shed a good 3% and over 2% respectively yesterday. The downswing is continuing this morning: platinum has dropped in price below $900 per troy ounce, hitting its lowest level since December 2008. Palladium has fallen to around $640 per troy ounce again. Platinum in particular appears to be under continuing pressure from the Volkswagen scandal. 

The heavy losses suffered by platinum have widened the price differential between gold and platinum to over $220 per troy ounce, its highest level since exchange trading of platinum began in 1987, since which time platinum has generally been more expensive than gold. 

The considerable discount on platinum as compared with gold is likely to prompt the jewellery industry to resort increasingly to platinum, which should cushion any potentially lower demand from the automotive industry, says Commerzbank. 

By contrast, the platinum to palladium price ratio has narrowed noticeably: at 1.4, it is at its lowest level since March. The previous time it was this low was in April 2002.