Gold, silver, platinum: the metal soap opera
Gold, silver and platinum move under the same banner, but their price drivers are worlds apart. Understanding those differences is the line between informed positioning and blind speculation.
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Liz Thorne
South Africans already live in a world where the rand trades like a commodity proxy when global capital swings between risk and safety, which means metals are not some distant Bloomberg obsession.
Gold, silver and platinum share the “precious metals” label, even though their price action comes from three completely different forces. Tracking market sentiment on gold helps, but understanding the underlying drivers helps more.
The soap opera setup: one family name, three rival storylines
Gold plays the legacy lead: central banks, currencies, crisis hedging, jewellery, the full old-world script. Central bank buying stayed elevated in 2025 (863 tonnes, according to the World Gold Council).
Silver plays the chaotic multitasker: part monetary hedge, largely industrial input, and prone to more drastic swings when risk appetite changes. Silver industrial demand reached a record 680.5 million ounces in 2024, driven by electrification, grid investment and photovoltaics.
Platinum plays the moody cousin from Gauteng: heavy industrial use, concentrated supply, and demand tied to car technology and energy themes. The USGS lists South Africa as the world’s leading producer of PGM-containing mined material.
Gold, silver and platinum share a category name, not a personality. Price fluctuations follow different supply constraints, different end-users and different investor narratives, which means “precious metals up” rarely tells a single story.
Gold: the old-money lead who dislikes surprises
Gold’s core function is monetary insurance. Trust in governments, banks, geopolitics or inflation expectations weakens, gold rallies. Central banks signalled continued interest in increasing reserves in the World Gold Council’s 2025 survey.
Another reason gold occupies the “trust barometer” role: the global monetary system broke formal ties to gold in 1971, when the US suspended dollar convertibility into gold, accelerating the collapse of Bretton Woods.
What drives gold
- Central bank reserve decisions.
- Real interest rates (inflation-adjusted yields).
- Geopolitical shocks and financial instability.
- Jewellery demand, which still accounts for a substantial share of global consumption.
Silver: the sibling with two careers
Silver’s appeal lies in its dual identity. One side links to monetary hedging, while the larger side connects to industry. Industrial demand, especially from solar manufacturing, plays a dominant role. LBMA research highlights photovoltaics as a major end-use, through silver powders and pastes in solar cells.
Manufacturers continue searching for ways to reduce silver usage because high prices squeeze margins. Reuters reported a push toward copper-based alternatives as costs climbed.
What drives silver
- Industrial cycle strength.
- Solar capacity expansion.
- Substitution risk in manufacturing.
- Investor flows during risk-on or risk-off phases.
Silver never plays the calm character. Half its life depends on factories and technology rollout, the other half depends on investor psychology when uncertainty rises.
Platinum: South Africa’s wildcard
Platinum rarely behaves like a gold substitute. Demand concentrates in autocatalysts, emissions systems and emerging hydrogen applications. Supply concentration amplifies volatility, with South Africa central to global output.
The World Platinum Investment Council’s Platinum Quarterly forecast (Q3 2025) a near-balanced market in 2026, with a small surplus of 20 koz, largely linked to softer investment demand in that projection.
What drives platinum
- Vehicle production trends and emissions standards.
- Hybrid adoption rates.
- Chinese and global manufacturing output.
- South African mining constraints.
- ETF flows and exchange inventory changes.
How South Africans can approach these metals without focusing solely on headlines
Stop treating precious metals as one trade
Gold can rally on geopolitical risk while platinum retreats on weaker auto demand. Silver can advance on solar expansion while gold cools as real yields increase.
Define the role first
Gold addresses monetary risk. Silver reflects industrial growth and investor mood, while platinum reflects industrial supply constraints and automotive cycles.
Choose exposure carefully
Physical metal carries storage and spread costs. Exchange-traded products involve fees and tracking differences. Mining shares layer company risk on top of metal exposure. CFDs introduce amplified risk and can erase capital quickly.
Watch a handful of signals
- Gold: Real yields and central bank reserve data.
- Silver: Solar manufacturing trends and industrial production.
- Platinum: Vehicle output, emissions regulation and South African mining developments.
Metals are not interchangeable hedges. Each one answers a different question about trust, industry and supply risk.
đź”´ You might also like to read:
Liz Thorne
Liz Thorne
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