Platinum futures fell back below $2,300 per ounce on Wednesday, retreating from near record highs as investors engaged in profit taking amid a broader selloff across the metals markets. Commodities also came under pressure from a firmer dollar as traders awaited a heavy slate of US economic data that could influence the Federal Reserve’s policy outlook. Earlier this week, platinum and other precious metals had rallied sharply on heightened safe-haven demand following US intervention in Venezuela and broader geopolitical tensions, which spurred inflows into non-yielding assets. Expectations of further US rate cuts also supported precious metals, with markets pricing in two reductions this year despite the Fed projecting only one. Structural supply constraints in key producing regions, particularly ongoing tightness in South African output, and robust industrial demand continued to underpin platinum’s fundamentals even as short-term profit booking weighed on prices.
