Considering that platinum is very useful in chemistry, I was interested to see the latest fluctuations in the platinum spot price:
It took a nosedive down to $564/oz, rebounded quickly, and is now slowly hovering close to about $600/oz. If the spot price drops below $600, I may
purchase 1 oz just to have on hand for various experiments. Not much is needed for catalysis anyway, but the bulk metal is needed when making a
robust platinum electrode.
Anyway, I checked my usual online sources...only to discover that every place that sells these metal bars close to spot is completely sold out. The
only (domestic) places that seem to have this available are asking prices close to $1000/oz. There is a narrow spread between the market bid and ask
price right now, only about $5 per oz.
So what gives? Is the low price caused by large players dumping truckloads of platinum on the market, while at the same time there is a shortage of
available bars for small-time buyers?
[Edited on 20-03-18 by WGTR] |