willis sparks along with us. with the urasia group. expensive to mine than gold, so >> susie: gold is now outshining platinum. prices for the yellow metal have surpassed those of platinum, something that is historically unusual. erika miller takes a closer look at what's behind this switch and what it says about the outlook for the economy. >> reporter: platinum is often called "the rich man's gold" and "the most precious of precious metals." platinum is more rare and more expensive to mine than gold, so it normally trades at a higher price to its neighbor on the periodic table. but starting last september, that relationship turned upside down. analysts say the reversal reflects gold's growing investment appeal. >> that has lifted the overall demand for gold specifically as an investment, but also as a reserve asset for central banks and governments. and that, i think, finally culminated in, at last, the switch from gold trading at a discount, to platinum, to gold trading at a premium. >> reporter: the fact that gold is delivering shin