Platinum at All Time High, Mint Suspends Platinum Eagles

Platinum has been on a tear lately, yesterday exceeding $2,000 per ounce for the first time, and today trading at $2,056 per ounce. The reason behind the recent rise is lowered output from platinum producers due to power cuts in South Africa.

Year to date, platinum has now risen over $500 per ounce. Dave Harper, I think astutely, advises caution for anyone seeking to jump into the market at this point.

Here's a chart of platinum's move over the past year.



The US Mint has once again suspended sales of platinum products in response to the latest rise. The Burnished Platinum Eagles had only been on sale for 4 days last week before being pulled. The Proof Platinum Eagles and 10th Anniversary Platinum Eagle Set later followed. The one platinum product still for sale is the 1/10 ounce Proof Platinum Eagle for $269.95.

The Mint is displaying their standard increasing market value message on the product pages:

Due to the increasing market value of platinum, the American Eagle Platinum Proof Coins are temporarily unavailable while pricing for these options can be adjusted; therefore, no orders can be taken at this time.