What many see as the natural order of precious metals has been restored—at least for the moment.

On Jan. 15, the spot price of platinum surpassed that of gold for the first time since March 2012.

The trend continued through most of the day, with platinum closing at $1,688 an ounce, and gold at $1,683 an ounce.

At press time, platinum was still trading at a premium to gold. Its spot price was $1,693 an ounce; gold’s was $1,679.

Analysts attributed platinum’s resurgence to an expected drop in the worldwide supply, with mining giant Anglo American announcing the closures of two of its platinum mines.

Gold reached parity with platinum in August 2011, and then quickly surpassed it. For most of 2012, it traded at a premium to platinum.

JCK