Sprott Physical Platinum and Palladium Trust

SPPP

Market cap $656M

Despite renewed momentum at the start of the month, the platinum market continues to struggle within its broader range, with prices at the start of London's historic platinum week back below $2,000 an ounce.

In recent months, there has been a lot of discussion about the importance of amplifying the domestic production and supply chains for rare earths in the United States. Given that China maintains a significant hold over the global market, the U.S. looking to increase its own rare earths presence makes a good deal of sense.

The Sprott Physical Platinum and Palladium Trust offers direct PGM exposure but faces high management fees and geopolitical-driven price volatility. I prefer exposure through miners like Valterra, which offer operational value-add, dividends, and compounding potential versus SPPP's static physical holdings. PGM demand is heavily tied to catalytic converters; market surplus risk looms as EV adoption and geopolitical effects on rates and leveraged overall car purchases persist.

Key Takeaways While energy investments of all kinds have struggled amid conflict in the Middle East, uranium might offer a compelling long-term opportunity. Sprott Asset Management CEO John Ciampaglia noted that uranium's fundamentals remain sound, and that it remains far harder to substitute or replace than other metals investors tend to allocate towards.

Silver is entering its sixth consecutive year of a structural supply deficit, as global production fails to keep pace with the massive demand required for the clean energy transition and AI infrastructure.

The global platinum market is expected to remain in deficit for a fourth consecutive year in 2026, although the shortfall will narrow significantly from the historic levels seen last year, according to the World Platinum Investment Council's latest Platinum Quarterly.

Despite falling below $5,000 recently, it could be an opportune time to strike and purchase the dip in gold prices. Fundamental demand drivers could continue to push the precious metal higher through the rest of the year.

Neils Christensen has a diploma in journalism from Lethbridge College and has more than a decade of reporting experience working for news organizations throughout Canada. His experiences include covering territorial and federal politics in Nunavut, Canada.

Platinum prices are on track for their strongest monthly rally in nearly four decades in December, fuelled by the EU's U-turn on its 2035 combustion-engine ban, a tight supply backdrop and rising investment demand for precious metals.

Gold prices hit an apex in October before taking a breather as 2025 winds down — a chance for investors to buy the dip. This could be a golden opportunity to get exposure to a pair of ETFs before another rally ensues: the Sprott Physical Gold Trust (PHYS) and the Sprott Gold Miners ETF (SGDM).