Platinum: Trading
Leasing, London auctions and long-term carmaker deals
What this tab covers How and where it is bought and sold: who buys and sells, exchanges and benchmarks, contract types, the big trading houses and how prices are discovered.Platinum trades over the counter in London and Zurich under London Platinum and Palladium Market rules, with daily benchmark auctions run by the LME. NYMEX futures in New York are the main exchange contract, and Japanese and Chinese exchanges serve Asian buyers. Automakers and chemical firms buy much of their metal under long-term agreements with miners and refiners, and often lease rather than own it. Dealer quotes such as Johnson Matthey's base prices and the Engelhard quotation used by USGS serve as contract references.
Where it is bought (buyers)
- Autocatalyst makers (Johnson Matthey, BASF, Umicore, Heraeus, Cataler) buy on term contracts for carmakers in Europe, China, Japan, India and the US
- Chinese jewellers and investors buy via the Shanghai Gold Exchange
- Japanese retail investors buy bars and futures
- Glass, chemical and refinery operators lease or buy metal
Where it is sold (sellers)
- South African miners (Valterra, Implats, Sibanye-Stillwater, Northam) sell refined metal from Rustenburg-area refineries on annual contracts
- Nornickel sells from Russia, increasingly to Asia
- Recyclers sell metal recovered from autocatalysts
Exchanges and benchmarks
| Venue | Contract | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| LPPM (London and Zurich OTC market) | Loco London/Zurich spot and forwards in platinum ingots and plate (good delivery) | LBMA Platinum Price set twice daily, administered by the LME |
| NYMEX (CME Group) | Platinum futures PL, 50 troy oz | Main futures venue |
| Osaka Exchange (JPX) | Platinum futures (yen) | Japan's retail-heavy market |
| Shanghai Gold Exchange | Pt9995 spot | China's import channel; import VAT treatment shapes premiums |
| Guangzhou Futures Exchange | Platinum futures (yuan) | Newer Chinese venue; its warehouse stocks are not yet in WPIC's balance (WPIC, Mar 2026) |
Contract types
- Annual or multi-year term supply contracts priced on LBMA or Johnson Matthey base prices
- Toll refining for industrial users and recyclers
- Metal leases to glass and chemical users
- Futures and ETFs
Top trading houses
- Johnson Matthey
- Heraeus
- Umicore
- BASF (precious metals trading)
- JPMorgan
- StoneX
How prices are discovered
- LBMA Platinum Price (LME-administered, twice daily)
- NYMEX futures
- Johnson Matthey base prices
- Shanghai premium or discount to London
- Lease rates