Platinum ended the week near $1,790 an ounce after dipping to a five-week low midweek, while palladium ticked higher but remained a fraction of its 2022 peak. Both moves tracked broader shifts in US interest-rate expectations and oil prices rather than any single PGM-specific development.
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Platinum climbs back toward $1,790 after touching a five-week low#
Platinum firmed over the last two trading days of the week. Trading Economics' CFD-tracked series put the metal at $1,777.60 a troy ounce on September 25, up 1.46% on the day, though still 3.63% below where it stood a month earlier even as it traded 11.88% above year-ago levels, according to Trading Economics. After Friday's close, JM Bullion listed spot platinum at $1,789.40 an ounce, or about $57.53 a gram, $26.05 above the previous session, according to JM Bullion (quote of 6:01 a.m. ET on Saturday, September 27; spot markets are closed at weekends).
For context, platinum had slipped to around $1,770 an ounce on September 24, which Trading Economics described as a five-week low, as rising Treasury yields and a stronger dollar reduced demand for the metal amid bets on another Federal Reserve rate increase in October. The subsequent recovery has come as easing oil prices, tied to reports of diplomatic efforts affecting the Strait of Hormuz, calmed some of the inflation concern that had weighed on non-yielding assets like platinum. This week's swings illustrate how exposed platinum has become to the US rate path even though its own supply and demand balance is comparatively tight. Track the live series on our platinum price page and platinum price chart.
Palladium ticks higher, stays far below its 2022 record#
Palladium also firmed modestly. Kitco put the price at $1,251.00 an ounce, or roughly $40.22 a gram, after Friday's session, up $4.00, or 0.32%, with the metal trading in a $1,227.00 to $1,297.00 range, according to Kitco (quote of 7:10 p.m. ET on September 26). JM Bullion's weekend ask quote stood at $1,287.50.
Whatever the exact quote, palladium remains far below its all-time high of $3,429.50 an ounce, reached on March 7, 2022, when fears over Russian supply disruption drove a spike that has since given back more than half its gains, per Kitco. The metal's price is closely tied to gasoline-vehicle production, since the bulk of palladium demand goes into catalytic converters for gasoline engines; that link has worked against the metal as electric vehicles, which need no catalytic converter, take share and automakers lean more on cheaper platinum instead. Supply is also concentrated, with Russia and South Africa together supplying most mined output as a byproduct of nickel and platinum mining, per Kitco. More on the demand side is on our palladium market page and palladium price chart.
Prices and market context#
Platinum's recent volatility sits on top of a market that forecasters see as tightly balanced. Trading Economics reported, citing WPIC forecasts, that industrial demand is expected to rise 5% in 2026, helped in part by AI-related infrastructure spending, while automotive demand is projected to fall 4%; the council also sees a 265,000-ounce surplus for 2026 but expects above-ground stocks to cover only about 3.4 months of global demand. Separately, Trading Economics reported that WPIC expects the platinum market to run average annual deficits of 331,000 ounces from 2026 through 2030 despite the moderate surplus forecast for 2026, underscoring a structurally tight backdrop even when a single year's balance turns positive.
Investors weighing exposure to that volatility can compare vehicles on our platinum ETF page or platinum bars page, and see how ounce, gram and kilogram prices convert for all six platinum group metals on our price hub.
What to watch#
- The Federal Reserve's October meeting. Markets were pricing meaningful odds of a further rate hike as of the September 24 selloff, per Trading Economics; the decision is likely to keep driving PGM price swings given the metals' recent sensitivity to yields and the dollar.
- Middle East diplomacy and oil prices. Reports of eased tension around the Strait of Hormuz have been cited as supporting platinum's rebound; a reversal could revive the pressure seen in late September.
- Heraeus Precious Forecast, next edition. Heraeus publishes its Precious Forecast on a November cadence, with the next edition expected around November 2026, offering an independent read on 2027 PGM supply and demand.
- WPIC's next Platinum Quarterly. The World Platinum Investment Council's latest Platinum Quarterly, published on 9 September 2026, turned its 2026 forecast to the 265,000-ounce surplus cited above; the next edition will update that balance.
Sources: JM Bullion (jmbullion.com), Kitco (kitco.com), Trading Economics (tradingeconomics.com).