Industrial demand is picking up, stocks are falling: now is the time to re-evaluate the platinum group metal as a physical asset.
The price of ruthenium has more than doubled within a year. This development is not only due to short-term market dynamics, but above all to a structural change on the demand side. The metal is already established in the electronics industry with applications such as artificial intelligence and cloud storage, as well as in the chemical industry, which requires the raw material as a catalyst. Now the hydrogen industry is also moving into focus as a growing area of application. The first ruthenium-based catalysts are being used in the production of ammonia. The gas, which consists of nitrogen and hydrogen, can be transported much more efficiently than pure hydrogen, and there is already a tried-and-tested infrastructure for transporting ammonia. Demand is still low in absolute terms, but it has multiplied in the past year and is expected to increase significantly again in 2025. This is confirmed by forecasts from both SFA Oxford as well as Metals Focus, both renowned analysts in the precious metals market.
Great potential in the physical asset portfolio
The supply situation remains tight, while at the same time growing in strategic importance in several key sectors. This makes ruthenium interesting not only for industrial customers: private buyers are also increasingly recognising the potential of the metal as a physically deposited physical asset. Ruthenium and other platinum group metals are therefore becoming increasingly important, not only in industry, but also as a physical asset. Their scarce availability and industrial utilisation make them interesting for long-term physical asset strategies.
Precious metals expert Philipp Götzl-Mamba at TRADIUM puts it in a nutshell: "Many people talk about diversification in their portfolio, but then often only buy ETFs, ETCs or shares. Alongside gold and silver, ruthenium is another physical asset with bright prospects. It symbolises a new generation of physical assets that is still far too little recognised: physical, scarce, industrially used, but still underestimated by traditional buyers of physical assets."
