Platinum futures trade at pending per troy ounce on the NYMEX pending contract as of pending, pending against the previous settlement. One contract holds 50 troy ounces (1,555.17 grams) of platinum, and 53,658 contracts, or 2.683 million ounces, were open on 28 July 2026, according to the CFTC. Who holds them, and what metal backs them?
| Metal | USD per troy ounce | USD per gram | USD per kilogram |
|---|---|---|---|
| PlatinumPt | $1,711.00 | $55.01 | $55,009.93 |
Spot prices from Metals-API, refreshed every minute; values per gram, kilogram and other units are converted from the per-ounce quote. How our prices are sourced
What Is a Platinum Futures Contract?#
A platinum futures contract is an exchange-traded agreement to buy or sell 50 troy ounces of platinum at a fixed price for delivery in a set month, listed on CME Group's New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) under the code PL. The buyer takes delivery and the seller makes it, unless either side closes the position first. Four terms define every position, listed below.
- Contract unit: 50 troy ounces of platinum per contract.
- Price: US dollars per troy ounce, the same unit as the spot price.
- Delivery month: January, April, July or October in the active cycle.
- Open interest: 53,658 contracts (2.683 million ounces) outstanding on 28 July 2026 (CFTC).
Platinum and palladium are the only platinum group metals with listed futures; rhodium, iridium, ruthenium and osmium have none. Platinum group metal prices therefore come from different sources, compared under platinum group metal prices.
How large is the futures market next to London? Open interest of 2.683 million ounces sits beside a 12-week moving average of US$15.50 billion in LBMA-reported platinum trades to 31 July 2026 (LBMA-i), the only public measure of over-the-counter platinum turnover.
Platinum Futures Price Today#
The platinum futures price above is the latest trade in the front-month NYMEX contract, pending, delayed by pending and labeled with its source. The widget adds the previous settlement, the day's range, the next contract month and the price per gram and kilogram.
Platinum price data sources differ in license and timing: exchange quotes, the London benchmark and dealer spot are separate feeds, documented under platinum price data sources.
On 6 August 2026 the front month was October 2026 (PLV2026), and TradingView's continuous contract (PL1!) last traded at $1,775.2 per ounce with 46,370 contracts open. The 52-week high on Investing.com's continuation series stood at $2,915.00 that day.
A platinum price chart shows the distance from that peak: the platinum price chart draws the spot series live and over longer ranges.
Platinum Futures Symbol and Ticker#
The platinum futures symbol is PL, followed by a month letter and the year: PLV2026 is the October 2026 contract. Data vendors add their own codes for the continuous front month, and the CFTC files platinum under commodity code 076651. The six symbol forms are listed below.
| Symbol | Meaning | Where it appears |
|---|---|---|
| PL | NYMEX platinum futures product code | CME Group, CFTC |
| PLV2026 | October 2026 contract (V = October) | TradingView, 6 Aug 2026 |
| PL1! | Continuous front-month contract | TradingView |
| PL=F | Front-month futures quote | Yahoo Finance |
| PLN24, PLN25 | July 2024 and July 2025 contracts | Barchart |
| 076651 | Commitments of Traders commodity code | CFTC |
A continuous symbol such as PL1! switches to the next contract at each roll, so its chart splices successive delivery months into one line.
Platinum Futures Contract Specifications#
The standard NYMEX platinum contract covers 50 troy ounces (1,555.17 grams), quoted in US dollars per troy ounce, with January, April, July and October as the active delivery months. The current and next two calendar months are also listed (CME Group factsheet). The seven verified specifications are listed below.
| Specification | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Exchange | New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), CME Group | CFTC; CME Group |
| Product code | PL | CME Group |
| CFTC commodity code | 076651 | CFTC Commitments of Traders, 28 Jul 2026 |
| Contract unit | 50 troy ounces (1,555.17 g) | CFTC Commitments of Traders, 28 Jul 2026 |
| Price quotation | US dollars per troy ounce | CME Group; TradingView |
| Active delivery months | January, April, July, October, plus the current and next two calendar months | CME Group factsheet |
| Open interest | 53,658 contracts (2.683 Moz) | CFTC, 28 Jul 2026 |
One troy ounce equals 31.1034768 grams, so one contract holds 1,555.17 grams and 643 contracts hold about one metric ton (32,150.7 troy ounces). Other weights convert with a troy ounce converter: troy ounce converter.
Tick Value, Point Value and Contract Value#
One NYMEX platinum contract gains or loses $50 for every $1 move in the price per ounce, because the contract holds 50 troy ounces. That $50 is the point value; tick value is the minimum price step times 50, and contract (notional) value is the futures price times 50. The four steps are listed below with a dated input.
- Take the futures price per troy ounce: $1,775.2 for PL1! on 6 August 2026 (TradingView).
- Multiply it by 50 troy ounces: $1,775.2 x 50 = $88,760 per contract.
- Multiply any price move by 50: a hypothetical $20 move changes the contract value by $1,000.
- Multiply by the number of contracts: 10 contracts hold 500 troy ounces (15.55 kilograms).
Live, the widget computes pending x 50 = pending.
Platinum Futures vs the Spot Price#
The platinum futures price is the price for platinum delivered through the exchange in a named future month, while the spot price is for unallocated metal in London delivered within two UK and US business days.
Spot has two public references: dealer quotes, which set the live platinum spot price, and the twice-daily LBMA platinum price auction. The widget's spot row comes from the live platinum spot price feed; the auction rules sit on LBMA platinum price.
What links the two prices? The exchange for physical (EFP), a privately negotiated swap of a futures position for an equal amount of physical metal, quoted as NYMEX minus loco London in dollars per ounce. The EFP widens when metal sits in the wrong vault, when a tariff looms or when funding is scarce. WPIC's Platinum Quarterly for Q1 2026 records that "the high New York EFPs enjoyed throughout 2025 waned".
Futures normally trade above spot (contango), because holding metal costs funding, storage and insurance. In 2025 London moved into deep backwardation instead (WPIC, CME Group, IPMI), and three-month implied lease rates passed 25% in July 2025, against 1% to 3% in 2024 (WPIC). The lease rate equals the interest rate minus the forward rate (LBMA), so a lease rate above interest rates turns the forward rate negative, the curve shape defined under backwardation.
The squeeze eased: WPIC put one-month lease rates at about 5% in June 2026, against about 15% in Q4 2025.
Spot, futures and physical prices are three price types for one metal, compared under spot, futures and physical prices.
Delivery and Warehouse Stocks: What Backs the Contract#
NYMEX and COMEX warehouses held 195.8 thousand ounces of registered platinum on 30 July 2026, the metal immediately deliverable against futures, and 398.9 thousand ounces in total. Registered metal carries a warrant; eligible metal (203.1 thousand ounces) meets the exchange specification without one. Stocks, open interest and the 2025 to 2026 flows are listed below.
| Measure | Platinum | Date | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registered stocks (deliverable) | 195.8 koz | 30 Jul 2026 | CME daily warehouse report |
| Eligible stocks (no warrant) | 203.1 koz | 30 Jul 2026 | CME daily warehouse report |
| Total NYMEX/COMEX stocks | 398.9 koz | 30 Jul 2026 | CME daily warehouse report |
| Open interest | 53,658 contracts (2,683 koz) | 28 Jul 2026 | CFTC |
| Registered stocks / open interest | 7.3% | 30 Jul and 28 Jul 2026 | Derived |
| Total stocks / open interest | 14.9% | 30 Jul and 28 Jul 2026 | Derived |
| Change in exchange stocks | +361 koz | Q1 2025 | Metals Focus via WPIC Platinum Quarterly Q1 2026 |
| Change in exchange stocks | +384 koz | Full year 2025 | Metals Focus via WPIC Platinum Quarterly Q1 2026 |
| Change in exchange stocks | -119 koz | Q1 2026 | Metals Focus via WPIC Platinum Quarterly Q1 2026 |
| NYMEX platinum stocks, year to date | -194 koz | To 11 Jun 2026 | WPIC |
Registered metal could settle 7.3% of open contracts at once, comparing stocks on 30 July with open interest on 28 July 2026; total stocks cover 14.9%. Headlines quoting total stocks therefore overstate deliverable supply.
CME's daily report is the only observable platinum inventory of size, since LBMA publishes London vault holdings for gold and silver only. WPIC and Metals Focus count changes in exchange stocks as investment demand; Johnson Matthey leaves them out. Exchange stocks are one slice of above-ground platinum stocks, covered with ETF and vault metal under above-ground platinum stocks.
What Moves the Platinum Futures Price?#
The platinum futures price moves on the same drivers as spot platinum (mine supply, demand, the dollar, gold) plus three futures-specific forces: speculative positioning, US warehouse flows and the New York premium over London. Tariff risk moved all three in 2025: Johnson Matthey's PGM Market Report (May 2026) describes "a massive influx of platinum into NYMEX warehouses" in Q1 2025 on fears of US tariffs.
What drives the platinum price on the spot side, from South African output to the rand, is set out under what drives the platinum price.
CFTC Commitments of Traders: Who Holds Platinum Futures#
On 28 July 2026, non-commercial traders held a net long position of 11,635 platinum futures contracts (581,750 ounces), while commercial traders were net short 16,151 contracts, according to the CFTC Commitments of Traders report. Long speculators against hedged producers is the classic platinum configuration. The positions are listed below in contracts and troy ounces.
| Category | Long (contracts) | Short (contracts) | Net (contracts) | Net (troy oz) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Non-commercial | 21,071 | 9,436 | +11,635 | +581,750 |
| Non-commercial spreads | 6,751 | 6,751 | 0 | 0 |
| Commercial | 18,198 | 34,349 | -16,151 | -807,550 |
| Non-reportable | 7,638 | 3,122 | +4,516 | +225,800 |
| Total open interest | 53,658 | 53,658 | 0 | 0 |
CFTC legacy futures-only, 28 Jul 2026.
Palladium stood the other way on the same date: non-commercial traders were net short 4,767 contracts and commercial traders net long, so PGM positioning is never one number. The CFTC report is a US government work, free to reproduce with attribution; the table keeps its report date.
How Much Positioning Moves the Price#
WPIC's price attribution model estimates that a 10-percentage-point rise in NYMEX managed-money net long positioning adds about US$37 per ounce to the annual average platinum price. The model (Platinum Essentials, 29 October 2024) is a regression on 31 annual observations from 1993 to 2023, with net long measured as managed-money net long divided by managed-money open interest.
How reliable is that estimate? The positioning coefficient has a p-value of 0.31, so it is not statistically significant, while automotive demand, jewelry demand, the gold price and the dollar-rand rate are. The CFTC table above counts non-commercial traders, a different category from managed money.
The model's residual, the macro premium, exceeded US$500 per ounce on 26 January 2026 and fell to minus US$11 after the reset (WPIC). Supply, demand and balance data for the platinum group metals market sit on platinum group metals market.
GFEX (Guangzhou) Platinum and Palladium Futures#
The Guangzhou Futures Exchange (GFEX) has listed physically settled platinum and palladium futures since 27 November 2025, priced in Chinese yuan per gram in 1,000-gram lots, according to the World Platinum Investment Council (WPIC), with options listed alongside. One 1,000-gram lot equals 32.15 troy ounces, 64.3% of the platinum in one 50-ounce NYMEX contract.
GFEX accepts delivery in ingots or in sponge, the powder form refineries produce and catalyst makers buy. WPIC singles out that feature: "No other global exchange allows delivery of sponge."
China and the platinum market met on a domestic futures exchange for the first time, and WPIC and Johnson Matthey both link the launch to the December 2025 buying that lifted platinum above $2,300 per ounce. Imports and demand are covered under China and the platinum market.
First deliveries came in June 2026: 2,276 kilograms of platinum (73.2 thousand troy ounces) and 2,224 kilograms of palladium, with institutional participation of 61% in platinum (WPIC, 16 July 2026). Those 73.2 thousand ounces equal 37% of NYMEX registered stocks on 30 July 2026. The three exchange-traded platinum contracts are compared below.
| Contract | Currency and quote | Lot (troy oz) | Lot (grams) | Settlement | Listed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NYMEX PL (CME Group) | USD per troy ounce | 50 | 1,555.17 | Physical, registered warehouse metal | Not verified here |
| GFEX platinum | CNY per gram | 32.15 | 1,000 | Physical, ingot or sponge | 27 Nov 2025 (WPIC) |
| JSE platinum futures | ZAR | 50 | 1,555.17 | Cash | Sep 2009 (JSE) |
| JSE mini platinum futures | ZAR | 10 | 311.03 | Cash | JSE |
Platinum Futures on Other Exchanges: JSE, Osaka and the CME Micro#
Platinum futures also trade on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), as rand-denominated, cash-settled contracts listed since September 2009 under license from CME Group. The JSE contract references the NYMEX price in a 50-ounce standard size and a 10-ounce mini, according to the JSE, and no metal changes hands. The physical platinum price in South Africa, per gram in rand, is on platinum price in South Africa.
Two more contracts appear on quote screens: an Osaka Exchange (TOCOM) platinum contract, quoted by TradingView as TPL1!, and CME Group's Micro Platinum futures. Neither size is confirmed here, so neither enters the tables.
Platinum Futures Price History and Records#
The highest platinum futures price on record is $2,923.70 per troy ounce on NYMEX in January 2026, per Trading Economics, against the house all-time high of $2,923 on 26 January 2026 (WPIC). Each series reads the peak, and the 2008 record, differently, as listed below.
| Series | Level (USD per oz t) | Date | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| NYMEX futures | 2,923.70 | January 2026 | Trading Economics |
| WPIC (house all-time high) | 2,923.00 | 26 January 2026 | WPIC |
| Spot | 2,920.41 | 26 January 2026 | metalcharts.org |
| Johnson Matthey base price | 2,860.00 | January 2026 | JM PGM Market Report, May 2026 |
| Futures continuation, 52-week high | 2,915.00 | As at 6 August 2026 | Investing.com |
| Previous record, NYMEX futures | 2,308.80 | 4 March 2008 | Nasdaq |
| Previous record, spot | about 2,290 | March 2008 | metalcharts.org |
| 2008 low, NYMEX futures | 761.80 | October 2008 | Nasdaq |
Five series, one event, with the 2008 cycle below it.
Futures print the headline records because they trade intraday: at the January 2026 highs NYMEX stood $3.29 above metalcharts' spot high, a gap between two daily highs rather than a basis. The 2008 record held for more than 17 years until platinum passed it on 24 December 2025 at about $2,320 to $2,323 (metalcharts.org, Kitco); NYMEX had fallen 67% to $761.80 within seven months of it (Nasdaq).
Platinum and palladium each gained around 90% between early April and mid-October 2025 (CME Group). Prices reset between 29 January and 2 February 2026 (WPIC) and stood at $1,908 at end-March 2026 (Johnson Matthey). The full platinum price history, in annual averages, is on platinum price history.
Platinum Futures vs Owning Physical Platinum#
Platinum futures differ from bars, coins and ETFs because a futures contract expires and requires margin, while physical platinum is owned outright; storing it cost 0.48% a year at BullionVault on 6 August 2026, against 0.12% for gold.
Investing in platinum has four routes (bars, coins, ETFs and futures), compared under investing in platinum.
Platinum ETFs hold Good Delivery bars in approved vaults and carry no expiry date; the funds are compared under platinum ETFs.
Futures also set the purity bar for US retirement accounts: IRC §408(m)(3)(B) admits platinum bullion to an IRA only at or above the fineness a regulated futures market requires for delivery. That clause shapes every platinum IRA, as set out under platinum IRA.
How to Trade Platinum Futures#
Trading platinum futures requires an account with a broker that has access to CME Group's NYMEX market. The six steps are listed below.
- Open an account with a futures broker that routes orders to NYMEX.
- Deposit the margin that CME Group and the broker set for each contract.
- Choose the contract month, usually the front month in the January, April, July and October cycle.
- Size the position in 50-ounce units: 4 contracts hold 200 troy ounces (6.22 kilograms).
- Track the position against each day's settlement price.
- Close or roll the position before the delivery month, unless you intend to make or take delivery of registered metal.
Buyers who want metal rather than a price position ask how to buy platinum as bars, coins or ETF shares: how to buy platinum.
Palladium Futures and the Other PGMs#
Platinum and palladium are the only two platinum group metals with listed futures anywhere; rhodium, iridium, ruthenium and osmium trade on dealer and refiner quotes. NYMEX palladium futures (PA) hold 100 troy ounces per contract on a March, June, September and December cycle, so the two metals roll in different months. Palladium open interest was 18,699 contracts (1.870 million ounces) on 28 July 2026 (CFTC); the contract is covered on palladium futures.
The platinum vs palladium contrast extends to positioning, with speculators net long platinum and net short palladium on 28 July 2026. Price, properties and uses are compared under platinum vs palladium.
Platinum Futures in Grams, Kilograms and Local Currencies#
One NYMEX platinum contract equals 1,555.17 grams or 1.555 kilograms of platinum (Pt, element 78, CAS 7440-06-4). The four conversions are listed below.
- Gram: futures price divided by 31.1034768; the spot platinum price per gram today is on platinum price per gram today.
- Kilogram: futures price times 32.1507466; the spot platinum price per kilogram today is on platinum price per kilogram today.
- Rupee: the platinum price in India today, per gram with duty and GST, is on platinum price in India today.
- Element: properties and uses of the contract's metal are on platinum (Pt), element 78.
Platinum Futures FAQ#
What is the futures symbol for platinum?#
The futures symbol for platinum is PL on NYMEX; data vendors show the front month as PL1! (TradingView) or PL=F (Yahoo Finance). A full contract symbol adds a month letter and the year, as in PLV2026 for October 2026.
How much is one contract of platinum futures?#
One platinum futures contract is 50 troy ounces, worth pending x 50 = pending at the current price. On 6 August 2026 the same contract was worth $88,760 at $1,775.2 per ounce (TradingView).
What is the highest price ever recorded for platinum?#
The highest platinum price ever recorded is $2,923 per troy ounce on 26 January 2026 (WPIC); NYMEX futures printed $2,923.70 in the same month. The previous record, $2,308.80 on NYMEX on 4 March 2008, stood until December 2025.
What is the outlook for platinum futures prices?#
No price level is certain; WPIC's Platinum Quarterly of 9 September 2026 forecasts a 265,000-ounce platinum surplus for 2026 after a 2025 deficit of over 1.4 million ounces. WPIC expects 83,000 ounces of net investment outflows in 2026. Each named platinum price forecast is on platinum price forecast, and the platinum market deficit years on platinum market deficit.
Should I buy platinum futures in 2026?#
DailyPlatinum does not give investment advice; the structural difference is that a futures contract expires and requires margin, while bars, coins and ETF shares do not. A futures position also moves $50 per contract for each $1 per ounce.