As gold has continued its incredible rise, its price has on
occasion topped that of its traditionally more expensive sister
metal, platinum.

According to Kitco,
gold’s price at the close of the New York market on Aug. 8 was $1,717 an ounce.
Platinum’s was $1,713.

Many analysts said that this may not be the last time gold
tops platinum, given the forces propelling gold upwards.

Platinum will have difficulty keeping up “in the current
world we live in,” Afshin Nabavi, head of trading at Geneva-based MKS Finance,
tells JCK. “The gold prices are being driven higher
mainly due to safe haven buying. The industrial metals, including platinum, are
losing value due to the financial problems. I think this scenario could
continue as long as no real solutions are found out of the U.S. and/or Europe.”

Mark Danks, sales and marketing manager for Johnson Matthey,
which monitors the platinum business, agrees.

“We have seen gold approaching platinum for some time now,”
he tells JCK. “Platinum has been relatively
stable compared to gold. It is basically subject to supply and demand. It’s not
a traditional inflation hedge, so people aren’t flocking to it the way they are
to gold.” 

He thinks that if gold continues to surge upwards, the
industry may look again at platinum.

“In the bridal business, whereas before you might see orders
in 18k white gold, now those orders might change to platinum,” he says. “That is traditionally what happens when the metal prices get close.”

At press time on Aug. 9, gold was trading at $1,771, after
hitting an incredible $1,780 an ounce in overnight spot trading, one day after first
crossing the $1,700 mark. Platinum was at $1,751.

Gold and platinum last reached parity in
December 2008.

JCK