platinum investment & finance definition

A metal that has a variety of uses in jewelry and industrial applications. Just over half of its demand comes from jewelry production, while automotive catalyst uses take up about one-third and chemical and petroleum refining takes up about 13 percent. The remainder of its demand comes from the computer industry and high-technology applications. Platinum is one of the world’s scarcest materials. Eighty percent of platinum supply comes from South Africa, about 10 percent from Russia, and the rest from North America. Futures and options contracts for platinum trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange, as well as other exchanges around the world. Platinum is the principal member of a six-metal group called platinum group metals (PGM). The other members of the group are palladium, rhodium, ruthenium, osmium, and iridium. All have chemical and physical qualities that make them vital industrial materials.