Gold Price Hits Parity With Platinum Price

LONDON—The price of gold is at parity with sister metal platinum for the first time since the end of 2008, as the yellow metal's value soars to new record highs.

Spot gold reached parity with platinum as it rallied to an all-time high of $1,715.29 a troy ounce on Standard & Poor's downgrade of the U.S. government's debt rating, which amplified investor jitters over the global economic outlook. Spot platinum—although still trading marginally higher on the day—meanwhile fell as low as $1,703 an ounce, as fears over demand for the industry-linked metal kept its spot price under pressure.

"We saw platinum and gold trading at the same price during the early stages of the global economic crisis and we are close to the same situation at the moment. Gold's status as a near-monetary asset is giving it considerable strength while platinum's greater exposure to economic growth is currently a weaker driver for price appreciation," said Mitsui precious-metals analyst David Jollie.

Ratios between the precious metals are closely watched by investors, who often examine shifts to help them decide which metal may be the better investment.