Platinum (PL) April (J) contract study: year-by-year results, the day-by-day shape of the move and where highs and lows printed.
Contract Almanac · Platinum (NYMEX)
Every April platinum contract 2011–2026, measured over its tenure as the lead contract · Typically leads Dec 27 – Mar 26
The April contract is platinum’s steady seat: 11 of 16 higher (69%), holding the metal from January through March as the year’s auto-demand forecasts and the broader turn-of-year metals bid do their work. Its oddity is an average of just +0.1% despite all that winning, courtesy of one catastrophic spring.
Each year is one contract, measured from the open of the day it took over the lead to the close of the day it handed off, the same roll convention used across all Traders Brief research. A platinum contract holds the lead for a true quarter, roughly 60 to 66 trading days, far longer than an energy tenure — these are seats, not months, and the day counts read accordingly. All highs and lows are the contract’s own trades, marked by trading day of the tenure, not calendar day.