Platinum is traded across multiple time zones and on multiple exchanges such as New York, Hong Kong, Zurich, and Sydney. The platinum spot price is calculated using the most active near month futures contract. This near month futures contract will not always be the front month contract, but rather the near month contract with the most trading volume. Platinum trades nearly around the clock these days, and like many other commodities, is always in the process of price discovery around the globe.

The spot price of platinum is quoted as the price for one troy ounce of platinum in U.S. dollars (USD).

Platinum prices are typically quoted in U.S. dollars (USD) per troy ounce. As with most commodities, platinum is usually quoted in USD, but prices may be converted to any local currency. For example, if one is located in the UK, they could simply take a current price of $800 USD per ounce and convert that $800USD to British Pound Sterling (GBP) at current exchange rates to come up with the local currency price per ounce in England.

The price of platinum is constantly changing based on market supply and demand, currency movements and other factors. The platinum spot price updates every few seconds during market hours. Between domestic and foreign exchanges, spot platinum prices update Sunday through Friday, from 6:00 PM EST to 5:15 PM EST each day. Spot prices remain static during that 45 minute down period from 5:15 PM EST to 6:00 PM EST each weekday, as well as from 5:15PM EST on Friday until 6:00 PM EST on Sunday. The price of platinum is in a constant state of discovery and can have extremely volatile periods.

Many economic factors affect the price of platinum, including interest rates, macro-economic trends, indexes like as the Dow Jones Industrial Average, monetary and fiscal policy, foreign relations, and more.

Bids represent an offer to buy, while Asks represent an offer to sell. If you are looking to buy platinum, you would pay the Ask price, while if you are looking to sell platinum, you would receive the Bid price. The Ask is always higher than the Bid, and the spread between the two prices is known as the bid-ask spread, which is a reliable measure of liquidity in any traded product. The general rule is the smaller the bid-ask spread is, the more liquid the asset is.

Yes — the price of platinum is the same all over the world. Exchanges and markets can take the current spot platinum price in USD and convert the price to local currency.

Commodities are obviously very widely traded vehicles for end users, financial institutions and banks, as well as retail investors. With the pace of economic activity and commerce in modern society, it is important that market participants have access to markets in where they have financial interests or price risk exposure.

Platinum and other metals are sold by dealers with a premium to the current spot price. When one is looking to sell metals to a dealer, the dealer may offer the current spot price or slightly below the spot price for one’s metals.  The dealer premium, as it is often called, represents the price at which a dealer will buy platinum or other metals and the price at which a dealer will sell platinum or other metals. The difference between the spread represents the dealer’s gross profit.