Platinum (PL) contract specifications: hours, tick size, options, the reports that move it and typical daily range.
Contract Specs · Platinum (NYMEX)
CME Group · Verified July 2026 · Typical-day figures computed from The Traders Brief’s own 16-year database
The thin one, in one card. Platinum is the smallest and most temperamental of the four metals we cover: a 50-ounce contract, a true quarterly rotation of four delivery months, and liquidity that demands respect. Specs, hours, options, reports, and the typical-day math from our data.
| Product / symbol | PL — NYMEX Platinum futures |
| Exchange | NYMEX (CME Group), traded on CME Globex |
| Contract unit | 50 troy ounces |
| Price quotation | U.S. dollars and cents per troy ounce |
| Minimum tick | $0.10 per ounce = $5.00 per contract |
| $10 move | $10 per ounce = $500 per contract |
| Trading hours | Sunday–Friday, 6:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. ET the next day, with a daily halt from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. ET |
| Prime session | 8:20 a.m. – 1:05 p.m. ET — the metals window; settlement prints at 1:05 p.m. ET |
| Options on futures | Yes, but thin — options (PO) list but the market is sparse; futures are the practical instrument. Detail below |
| Active months | Jan (F), Apr (J), Jul (N), Oct (V) — a true quarterly rotation; each contract leads for roughly three months |
| Last trading day | Third-to-last business day of the delivery month |
| Settlement | Physical delivery via approved depositories |
| Margin | Set by the exchange and your broker — confirm current requirements |
Platinum trades the metals prime window, 8:20 a.m. to 1:05 p.m. ET with settlement at 1:05, and inside that window is genuinely where you want to transact, because platinum’s book is the thinnest of the four metals at every hour. Overnight, spreads widen enough that market orders are a donation. South African supply news and auto-catalyst demand stories are this metal’s own drivers, layered on top of the macro tide that moves all the precious metals.
Platinum options exist (PO) but honesty serves better than completeness here: the market is thin, quotes are wide, and size is hard to move. The professional reality is that platinum exposure is taken and managed in the futures, with options reserved for patient hedgers working orders. If you need liquid options on a precious metal, that market is gold’s.
The recurring releases that move this market, in rough order of importance.
| Report | When | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| FOMC decisions & minutes | 8 scheduled meetings/yr, 2:00 p.m. ET | Rate policy sets real yields, and real yields are the metal’s gravity |
| CPI | Monthly, 8:30 a.m. ET | The inflation print the whole precious-metals thesis trades against |
| Nonfarm payrolls | First Fridays, 8:30 a.m. ET | Growth and rate expectations in one number; big surprises reprice the dollar and the metal together |
| U.S. dollar & real yields | Continuous | Not a report but the tide: the metal’s largest single driver day to day |
| CFTC Commitment of Traders | Fridays 3:30 p.m. ET | Who is long and who is short, by trader class — the positioning backdrop for every move |
Over the last 12 months (258 sessions through July 23, 2026), the front platinum contract’s average daily high-to-low range was $94.40 per ounce, worth $4,720 per contract, with a median of $3,598, more than double the five-year average of $2,054, and a maximum session worth $34,440. For a 50-ounce contract that most traders consider a sleepy market, this year’s platinum tape has been anything but, and the thin book amplifies every one of those dollars.
The contract months that actually lead this board, with the stretch each one typically holds the front.
| Contract | Code | Typically leads |
|---|---|---|
| January | F | leads roughly Oct – Dec |
| April | J | leads roughly Jan – Mar |
| July | N | leads roughly Apr – Jun |
| October | V | leads roughly Jul – Sep |
Knowing what a tick is worth doesn’t tell you where this market sits today, what the 16-year record says about the session in front of you, or the levels that matter into the next open. That is what The Traders Brief does every morning, across energy, metals, and the indexes.
See today’s read →How much is one tick in platinum futures?
$5.00 per contract; the minimum move is $0.10 per ounce on a 50-ounce contract. A $10 move is worth $500.
Which platinum contract months are active?
Four, a true quarterly rotation: January, April, July, and October (F, J, N, V). Each contract leads the board for roughly three months.
How much does platinum move in a day?
Over the last 12 months the average daily range was $94.40 per ounce, $4,720 per contract, median $3,598, more than double its five-year norm, by our own database.
When do PL contracts expire?
Trading terminates on the third-to-last business day of the delivery month; volume rolls weeks earlier.
Specifications reflect the exchange’s published contract terms as of July 2026 and can be amended by the exchange; confirm current terms and margin requirements with your broker before trading. Typical-day figures are computed from The Traders Brief’s historical database and describe the past, not a forecast. © 2026 The Traders Brief.