Now at $545/oz, up from $340 last summer.

This is apparently not just due to renewed interest in "fuel cells". My opinion is that investors are unloading their paper and Internet stocks for tangible assets. The price rise is visible because the platinum market is not manipulated to the degree that the gold & silver markets are.

-- All that glitters etc (@ .), February 09, 2000

Answers

As i recall, there was a thread on here about a week ago in reference to Mr. Bill Gates having purchased a VERY large sum of platinum recently.? hummmmm? Boy this is GREAT news for Russia, isn`t it?

-- mutter (murmur@ya.com), February 09, 2000.

Yes, there was a recent thread about Gates and Buffet (I believe) making major buys.

Though I don't have a link to offer, I suspect that you'll also find that Russia's shipments are way, way down from recent years -- on the order of a 40% drop. So, the mines aren't producing as well, they can't ship the stuff, they're stockpiling it, or they're using it elsewhere.

I suspect a combination of stockpiling and using elsewhere. Stockpiling in anticipation of needing to use more of it in stuff that's usually painted grey or green or camo.

-- Redeye in Ohio (cannot@work.com), February 09, 2000.