Column: Electric dreams turn into a nightmare for battery metals
A sector that was once racing to build new supply has been closing mines and deferring projects as low prices bite into the cost curve.
Costco is expanding its line of precious metals products with the addition of one-ounce platinum bars on top of its popular gold bars.
The platinum bars — made by Swiss refiner PAMP — are priced at $1,089.99 on the wholesaler’s US website, and are limited to one per Costco member.
The bars are only available online, but cannot be delivered to certain American jurisdictions such as Louisiana, Nevada or Puerto Rico, the company said in an announcement Wednesday.
With the platinum product, Costco is looking to replicate the success it had with the PAMP gold bars, which launched in August 2023 and became an instant hit, often selling out within hours of a restock.
Earlier this year, analysts at Wells Fargo reported that Costco was selling as much as $200 million worth of gold bars a month.
The new offering comes at a time when platinum is struggling to match the performance of gold in what could be a monumental year for precious metals. In 2024, the metal has only risen 1%, compared to a near 30% gain for gold.
This is also despite a noticeably healthy demand and supply shortfall in the global platinum market, which the World Platinum Investment Council says should “offer some support for prices.”
At press time, the spot price of platinum is at $1,009.50 per ounce.
