A Long and Winding Road: The Future of Platinum Group Metals
As a metals merchant and financier long dedicated to helping mining companies, industrial end users, and recycling companies navigate the precious metals markets, Auramet keeps track of the most current information on the supply, demand, and cost of the PGMs. In 2018, we purchased more than 2.5 million ounces of PGMs (all of which were eventually consumed in industrial applications across three continents). Given that 2019 saw a significant increase in both PGM prices and volatility, it is even more meaningful that our clients understand not only what drives the current market conditions, but what can be expected going forward. This article will address the future of the three most prominent PGMs (palladium, platinum, and rhodium), focusing specifically on how the demand for each metal will be influenced by the gradual shift of the global automobile market away from internal combustion engines and towards motors solely powered by electric batteries.