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Platinum’s bullish run in 2025 is showing no signs of slowing, driven by soaring investment demand and a resurgence in jewellery buying, particularly in China.
By Ryan Chigoche
The World Platinum Investment Council (WPIC) says this strong momentum has placed platinum ahead of gold and silver as the best-performing commodity so far this year.
From the beginning of the year, the platinum market has been in a structural deficit, with robust investment demand and accelerating interest from China as key factors that will shape the rest of the year.
These trends, the WPIC notes, position platinum as both an attractive investment asset and a strategically important metal for the global energy transition.
“Platinum has broken out of its post-pandemic trading range to be the top-performing commodity in the first six months of 2025.
“Looking to the remainder of 2025, platinum’s investment case remains compelling, with the platinum market in structural deficit. Platinum’s sustained, significant discount relative to gold continues to add to its appeal. This is especially true in China, where both jewellery demand and bar and coin demand are forecast to show exceptionally strong growth this year. The success of Shanghai Platinum Week, which achieved record-breaking attendance and is increasingly drawing an international audience, demonstrates heightened interest in platinum, both as an investment asset and as a critical mineral across multiple value chains,” said WPIC CEO Trevor Raymond in a recent media interview.
According to WPIC data, global investment in platinum bar and coin surged by 660% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2025. China has become the key growth engine, now accounting for 64% of global platinum bar and coin demand, up from just 11% in 2019.
This surge has been fuelled by market development initiatives, investors seeking refuge from record-high gold prices, and a revival of China’s platinum jewellery sector. Platinum jewellery demand in the country jumped 32% in Q2 to 668,000 oz, pushing global jewellery demand to its highest first-half level since 2015. For the full year, jewellery demand is forecast to climb 11% to 2.23 million oz, with China contributing a 42% increase.
On the investment side, the dramatic second-quarter rise in Chinese bar and coin purchases lifted total bar and coin demand 55% higher to 109,000 oz. For the whole of 2025, bar and coin demand is expected to increase 45% to 282,000 oz, with demand for bars of 500 g and above in China climbing 15% to 186,000 oz. Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are also forecast to return to net inflows in the second half of the year, reaching 100,000 oz on stronger investor sentiment and platinum’s persistent discount to gold.
Platinum’s critical role in the global decarbonisation effort is also gaining attention. Demand from hydrogen-based applications is projected to rise 19% to 49,000 oz this year, supported by a growing pipeline of orders for proton-exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysers and ongoing regulatory support.
Raymond emphasised that platinum’s investment function is a crucial part of its strategic value.
“Platinum investment is a natural mechanism for attracting metal into any geography, providing a pool of liquidity to supply future demand. For a strategically important metal like platinum, which is an essential ingredient for the hydrogen economy and global decarbonisation, this is likely to prove particularly important for major end users such as China that do not have meaningful domestic sources of supply.”
Although industrial platinum demand grew 41% quarter-on-quarter to 513,000 oz in Q2, it is forecast to fall 22% to 1.9 million oz for the full year. This drop is largely due to a 74% decline in glass demand, partly offset by gains in petroleum (+14%), hydrogen (+19%), medical (+4%), and electrical (+2%) applications.
With prices reaching a ten-year high of US$1,450/oz in July and China’s demand showing no signs of slowing, WPIC maintains that platinum’s structural deficit will continue to underpin investor interest through the remainder of 2025.
