FX.co ★ Platinum Sideways Near Multi-Month Lows

Platinum futures were steady around $1,630 an ounce, moving sideways near their lowest level since November 2025, as a stronger US dollar continued to pressure precious metals. Downside moves were capped, however, after evidence of a cooling US labor market tempered expectations of an imminent Federal Reserve rate hike. June payroll data showed a clear slowdown in job creation, and downward revisions to the previous two months’ figures further strengthened the view that the Fed may postpone additional tightening. Investors are now looking ahead to the release of the Fed’s meeting minutes, with futures markets pricing in just over a 50% probability of a rate increase in September. At the same time, easing inflation worries—helped by lower oil prices, recovering crude flows through the Strait of Hormuz, and the prospect of higher OPEC+ output—also influenced sentiment. On the supply front, platinum production in South Africa remained constrained by ongoing power disruptions, while mine expansions in Russia have not yet meaningfully alleviated the market’s structural supply deficit or the tightness in above-ground inventories.