Gold’s Cheaper Precious Metals Cousins Surge to Multi-Year Highs

Silver and platinum prices surged to multi-year highs, with silver reaching its highest level since February 2012 and platinum hitting a peak since 2022, driven by a technical breakout and increasing investor demand for precious metals used in industrial applications. On Thursday, spot silver increased by 4.5% to $36.06 an ounce, while platinum rose by 4.8% to over $1,146 an ounce, with prices remaining near these levels on Friday.

Analysis

Silver and platinum prices have surged to multi-year highs, with spot silver rising 4.5% on Thursday to $36.06 an ounce—its highest since February 2012—and platinum increasing 4.8% to over $1,146 an ounce, a peak since 2022. These gains, which held near these levels on Friday, are attributed to a technical breakout and growing investor appetite for precious metals integral to industrial applications, as indicated by strongly positive sentiment (0.85) for silver and platinum ETFs (e.g., SLV, SIVR, PPLT) compared to neutral sentiment for gold ETFs. This suggests a potential rotation into these relatively undervalued precious metals, driven by both their industrial utility and favorable market technicals, reflecting themes of 'Commodities & Raw Materials', 'Market Technicals & Flows', and 'Investor Sentiment & Positioning'.