Johnson Matthey's 2026 PGM report forecasts platinum's fourth straight annual deficit, narrowing but still real, while palladium and rhodium swing to surplus for the first time since 2012 as demand cools.
At a glance
- Johnson Matthey's 2026 PGM Market Report, published May 14, 2026, forecasts platinum's fourth consecutive annual deficit, with 2026 demand down 8% and mine shipments from both South Africa and Russia lower.
- Palladium is forecast to swing into a small surplus in 2026, its first since 2012, as demand falls 9% and Russian mine production drops to its lowest level in at least two decades.
- Rhodium is also expected to move into surplus as demand falls 6% and automotive-scrap recoveries head for a four-year high.
- Ruthenium and iridium are forecast to stay in deficit; hard-disk demand for ruthenium is set for a five-year high on data-center growth, and iridium demand could edge higher as two large green-hydrogen projects near completion in Europe.
What happened
Johnson Matthey published its annual platinum group metals market report on May 14, 2026, and it describes two precious metals moving in opposite directions at once. Platinum is heading for its fourth consecutive annual supply deficit, with 2026 demand forecast to fall 8% and combined primary and secondary supply also contracting, as mine shipments from both South Africa and Russia, the world's two dominant sources, come in lower. Palladium tells the opposite story. After running a deficit in every year from 2012 through 2025, Johnson Matthey expects the metal to swing into a small surplus in 2026, as demand falls a forecast 9% and ETF investment turns negative in the first quarter, even as Russian palladium mine production is set to drop to its lowest level in at least two decades. Rhodium is expected to follow palladium into a small surplus, with demand down 6% and automotive-scrap recoveries heading for a four-year high, while ruthenium and iridium are forecast to stay in deficit, the two PGMs least exposed to slowing car production and most exposed to growing demand from data storage and green-hydrogen equipment.
The details
Platinum and palladium are often discussed as a single basket of interchangeable autocatalyst metals, but Johnson Matthey's 2026 report is a reminder that their underlying markets can move in opposite directions at the same time. Platinum's deficit persists for a straightforward reason: primary supply keeps shrinking, with mine shipments from both South Africa and Russia, the two countries that dominate global output, both expected lower in 2026, while demand, though itself forecast to fall 8%, is not falling fast enough to close the gap. The result is a fourth consecutive annual shortfall, even as the size of that shortfall has narrowed from the deficits of the prior two years.
Palladium's reversal works through a different mechanism entirely, and it is a genuine reversal, not a modest adjustment. After fourteen straight years of deficit stretching back to 2012, Johnson Matthey expects palladium to post a small surplus in 2026. What makes this notable is that it is happening even as Russian palladium mine production, historically the single largest source of global supply, falls to its lowest level in at least two decades. Demand is simply falling faster than supply: ETF investors pulled money out in the first quarter, and automotive demand is easing as gasoline-engine vehicle production declines, palladium's single largest end use by far. When demand contracts faster than a shrinking supply base, the result is a surplus even in a year when the metal's biggest historical supplier is producing less than it has in a generation.
Rhodium, palladium's smaller and more volatile cousin in the autocatalyst world, is following the same script: demand down 6%, but recoveries of the metal from scrapped automotive catalytic converters are heading for a four-year high, adding secondary supply back into a market that had also run a deficit in 2025. That recycling recovery matters beyond rhodium alone. Johnson Matthey attributes the broader pickup in autocatalyst recycling to the strong PGM prices of recent years, which make it more economical to recover metal from scrap, a self-correcting mechanism that tends to add supply precisely when prices have already run high enough to justify the recovery cost.
Ruthenium and iridium sit apart from this pattern because their demand isn't tied to the auto industry at all. Ruthenium's hard-disk demand is set for a five-year high as data-center construction accelerates, even as the metal's overall demand is forecast to fall 6% from softness elsewhere; iridium could see demand edge higher as two large green-hydrogen projects near completion in Europe, marking what Johnson Matthey describes as the first commercial-scale use of iridium in PEM electrolysis for green hydrogen production. Both metals remaining in deficit while palladium and rhodium swing to surplus shows that 2026's PGM story isn't really about autocatalysts weakening across the board; it's about automotive-linked demand cooling while data-center and energy-transition-linked demand keeps growing, a split that cuts straight through the middle of what's traditionally treated as one metals group.
Why it matters
Johnson Matthey's report captures a genuine divergence inside a metals basket that gets discussed as a single block far more often than the underlying data supports: platinum remains structurally undersupplied even as its deficit narrows, while palladium and rhodium, after more than a decade of shortages, are heading toward the opposite problem. For anyone tracking platinum and palladium on this site, both metals thinner in coverage than gold or silver, the report is a concrete reminder that two metals sharing many of the same industrial end-uses can move through very different supply-demand cycles in the same year.
Our read
Outlook: bullish. Platinum's supply deficit persists for a fourth straight year, with mine shipments from both South Africa and Russia lower in 2026, keeping the metal's physical market structurally tight even as the deficit narrows from 2025. The offsetting palladium and rhodium surplus reflects a genuine softening in automotive and investment demand rather than a platinum-specific dynamic, so confidence is held to a moderate level given the mixed picture across the wider PGM basket.
What to watch
- Whether Russian palladium mine production falls as far as Johnson Matthey's two-decade-low forecast for 2026
- Autocatalyst recycling volumes, with rhodium recoveries projected to reach a four-year high
- China's platinum jewellery fabrication trend for signs of stabilizing or further decline
- Progress on the two large European green-hydrogen projects Johnson Matthey cites as a driver of rising iridium demand
For information only, not investment advice.
Platinum price in India
metalscost.com India reference price as of 2026-10-16.
Detailed analysis
Timeline
- 2012-01-01: Palladium enters a run of annual supply deficits that continues without interruption through 2025.
- 2026-01-26: Platinum sets an all-time high near $2,924 an ounce.
- 2026-05-14: Johnson Matthey publishes its 2026 PGM Market Report, forecasting a continued platinum deficit and a swing to surplus for both palladium and rhodium.
Demand Drivers
Johnson Matthey forecasts 2026 demand falling across nearly every PGM: platinum down 8%, palladium down 9%, rhodium down 6% and ruthenium down 6% overall, driven by weaker jewellery and investment demand and easing automotive demand as gasoline-engine vehicle production declines. Iridium is the exception, with demand potentially edging higher on green-hydrogen project completions, and ruthenium's hard-disk-specific demand is set for a five-year high on data-center growth even as the metal's total demand falls.
Supply Drivers
Platinum's combined primary and secondary supply is contracting, with mine shipments from both South Africa and Russia expected lower in 2026. Palladium and rhodium supply is being reinforced by a recovery in autocatalyst recycling, supported by strong PGM prices, with rhodium scrap recoveries heading for a four-year high.
Inventory Drivers
Palladium ETF investment turned negative in the first quarter of 2026, a demand-side outflow that is contributing to the metal's forecast swing into surplus alongside falling automotive demand.
Mining Production
Russian palladium mine production is forecast to fall to its lowest level in at least two decades in 2026, and platinum mine shipments from both South Africa and Russia, the two dominant sources of primary supply, are both expected lower.
Global Consumption
Johnson Matthey projects 2026 demand to contract for every PGM except iridium, with jewellery and investment demand weakening and automotive demand easing as gasoline-engine vehicle production declines, even as data-center construction supports growing demand for platinum and ruthenium in non-automotive applications.
What could lift prices
- Platinum's fourth consecutive annual deficit, even as it narrows, points to continued structural undersupply relative to demand.
- Primary platinum supply keeps eroding, with mine shipments from both South Africa and Russia expected lower in 2026.
- Data-center and green-hydrogen demand is a genuinely new, non-automotive growth driver keeping ruthenium and iridium in deficit even as auto-linked PGM demand cools.
What could weigh on prices
- Falling jewellery, investment and automotive demand is driving palladium and rhodium into their first surpluses since 2012, a genuine softening in the broader PGM demand base.
- Palladium's swing to surplus is happening even as Russian production falls to a two-decade low, showing demand weakness is currently outweighing even a major supply cut.
Country impact
| Country | Impact | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| South Africa | High | South Africa is the dominant global platinum producer, and its 2026 mine shipments are expected lower, directly contributing to platinum's fourth consecutive annual deficit. |
| Russia | High | Russia is a dominant source of both platinum and palladium supply, and its 2026 palladium mine production is forecast to fall to its lowest level in at least two decades. |
| China | Medium | A sharp fall in Chinese platinum jewellery fabrication is cited as a factor narrowing platinum's deficit alongside softer investment demand. |
Industry impact
| Industry | Effect | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Automotive | Positive | A forecast palladium and rhodium surplus, driven partly by declining gasoline-vehicle production, could ease catalytic-converter input costs for automakers even as platinum, still in deficit, remains a comparatively costlier input. |
| Jewellery | Negative | Weakening 2026 jewellery and investment demand, including a sharp fall in Chinese platinum jewellery fabrication, signals softer consumer demand in a key market. |
| Electronics | Positive | Growing hard-disk demand tied to data-center expansion is pushing ruthenium demand for that specific use to a five-year high, one of the few areas of PGM demand still expanding in 2026. |
Who gains, who loses
- Platinum producers: A continued, if narrowing, supply deficit keeps platinum's pricing environment structurally tighter than palladium's or rhodium's.
- Automakers and other buyers of palladium and rhodium: A forecast swing to surplus in both metals, driven mainly by falling automotive and investment demand, points toward a softer pricing environment for buyers even as platinum remains scarce.
- Palladium and rhodium producers: Johnson Matthey's forecast surplus for both metals in 2026, the first for palladium since 2012, points toward a softer pricing environment after years of shortage-driven support.
- Platinum jewellery buyers and manufacturers, particularly in China: A persistent platinum deficit, even as it narrows, keeps upward price pressure on platinum even as China's own platinum jewellery fabrication has fallen sharply.
Other ways this could play out
- If gasoline-vehicle production proves more resilient than currently forecast, palladium and rhodium's projected surpluses could narrow or fail to materialize.
- If jewellery and investment demand stabilizes rather than continuing to weaken, platinum's deficit could stop narrowing and widen back toward 2025's levels.
Price risks
- If Russian PGM supply contracts less than forecast, or gasoline-vehicle demand proves more resilient than expected, palladium's projected surplus could narrow or fail to materialize.
- A platinum deficit that keeps narrowing toward balance would remove one of the metal's key structural supports, even though 2026 still marks a fourth consecutive shortfall.
Historical comparison
- 2012-2025: Palladium ran a supply deficit every year, before Johnson Matthey's 2026 report forecasts a swing to a small surplus as demand falls faster than a shrinking Russian supply base.
Technical view
Price is trading below both its 20-period and 50-period moving averages, a bearish alignment.
Computed from metalscost.com's own stored price history.
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