Gold and silver futures trade on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange’s COMEX division, while the CME lists platinum and palladium futures on the NYMEX division. While the four metals are rare and precious, gold and silver have more financial applications than the two leading platinum group metals with many industrial applications. Moreover, gold and silver futures are highly liquid, while platinum and palladium futures have far lower volume and open interest levels. Gold and silver annual production is much higher than platinum and palladium output. Lower liquidity and limited supplies can cause the platinum group metals to have far more volatility than gold and silver.
The equally weighted precious metals sector moved 6.14% lower in Q4, with only gold posting a marginal gain. The sector was 5.19% higher in 2024. Gold and silver prices posted significant gains, while platinum and palladium prices suffered substantial declines.
