Precious metals markets show divergent trends in gold and platinum

Precious metals markets are seeing varied activity across gold and platinum. Gold continues to see resilient investor demand, evidenced by ongoing ETF inflows driven by concerns regarding fiscal sustainability and the purchasing power of fiat currencies. The People’s Bank of China has also accelerated its gold purchases, adding 650,000 troy ounces in August, marking its 22nd consecutive month of buying.

In the mining sector, Aya Gold & Silver released an updated Preliminary Economic Assessment for its Boumadine project. The assessment estimates an after-tax NPV5% of $3.5 billion and an IRR of 93%, based on projected gold and silver prices. This valuation significantly exceeds previous market consensus.

Conversely, platinum is facing downward pressure. Technical and fundamental analysis of the abrdn Physical Platinum Shares ETF (PPLT) suggests a bearish outlook. The metal's term structure is in stable contango, and the ETF is trading approximately 9% below its 200-period moving average, though a rebound in automotive demand remains a potential risk to this trend.