PL · Metals / Cross-Asset Coherence Regime
Z4697 – PL FIRMS Bushveld Activity
South Africa Bushveld = world’s #1 platinum + palladium mining region. Wildfires + brush fires affect mine-site infrastructure + power supply (Eskom load-shedding correlates with grassfire+heat risk).
At a glance
IN-SEASON · ACTIVE
Current reading
+0.063
PL FIRMS Bushveld Activity composite, tanh-bounded
Signal state
Normal
13 trading days in current state
Phase
NEUTRAL
Positive equals bushveld fire activity high; negative equals bushveld fire activity low
Sample
36 years
Live since 1990-12
As of Nov 04, 2026. Updated nightly.
SIGNAL OVERVIEW
South Africa Bushveld = world’s #1 platinum + palladium mining region. Wildfires + brush fires affect mine-site infrastructure + power supply (Eskom load-shedding correlates with grassfire+heat risk). The composite is bounded between minus one and plus one through tanh. Across 36 years Phase +1 bushveld fire activity high state has returned on average plus 0.80 percent forward 60-day platinum return. Phase -1 bushveld fire activity low state has returned on average plus 1.25 percent. Today the composite reads +0.063, in Normal territory.
LIVE CHART
PL FIRMS Bushveld Activity: composite bounded minus one to plus one.
The dark line in the top panel is the composite bounded between minus one and plus one. The pale red band marks bushveld fire activity low regime. The pale green band marks bushveld fire activity high regime. The bronze line in the middle panel is the trailing 252-day rolling Spearman information coefficient. The lower panel is NYMEX platinum continuous back-adjusted price on the right axis in cents per ounce.
COMPOSITE
+0.063 / tanh
STATE
(nightly)
PHASE
(nightly)
FWD 60d
(nightly, baseline +2.08 percent)
SAMPLE N
9,020 days
TODAY’S PLAYBOOK READING
STATE
NORMAL
STATE AND HISTORY
Normal. Sample N=9,020 days since 1990-12.
WHY THE SIGNAL IS HERE
South Africa Bushveld = world’s #1 platinum + palladium mining region. Wildfires + brush fires affect mine-site infrastructure + power supply (Eskom load-shedding correlates with grassfire+heat risk).
POSTURE FOR THE WEEKS AHEAD
The signal is a regime detector on a 60-day forward horizon. Pair with price momentum signals for conviction.
WHAT THE CHART SHOWS
Today the composite reads +0.063 placing the dot inside the Normal band.
TOP INPUTS FIRING
- Silver returns Primary silver price momentum.
- 10-year TIPS-implied inflation breakeven Market-implied inflation expectation.
- Rolling coherence trend 5-year first-difference of coherence at 170-day cycles.
THE REGIME MAP
The three regime phases, forward 60-day platinum returns and sample share
Baseline platinum forward 60 day return (unconditional): mean plus 2.08 percent, median plus 1.92 percent, across 6,295 trading days.
| State | Phase | Share | Fwd 60d | HAC t | Edge vs baseline | Last firings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bushveld fire activity high | +1 | 32.0% (2034 d) | +1.56% | -0.52pp | Jul 2026, Aug 2025, Nov 2024 | |
| Normal TODAY | 0 | 15.4% (979 d) | +3.06% | +0.99pp | Oct 2026, Sep 2026, Jun 2026 | |
| Bushveld fire activity low | -1 | 52.6% (3342 d) | +2.10% | +0.03pp | Oct 2026, Oct 2025, Oct 2025 |
The historical pattern
How to use the signal today
THE TRACK RECORD
State changes
| State | Start | End | Duration | Fwd 60d SPY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Normal | 10/28/2024 | 11/05/2024 | 7d | +3.19% |
| Extreme Pos (silver Compressed) | 11/06/2024 | 11/06/2024 | 1d | +2.23% |
| Normal | 11/07/2024 | 11/07/2024 | 1d | +1.80% |
| Extreme Pos (silver Compressed) | 11/08/2024 | 11/11/2024 | 2d | +0.43% |
| Normal | 11/12/2024 | 11/20/2024 | 7d | +1.41% |
| Extreme Pos (silver Compressed) | 11/21/2024 | 12/02/2024 | 7d | +1.06% |
| Normal | 12/03/2024 | 12/11/2024 | 7d | -4.48% |
| Extreme Pos (silver Compressed) | 12/12/2024 | 09/24/2025 | 196d | -8.76% |
| Normal | 09/25/2025 | 10/09/2025 | 11d | +3.24% |
| Extreme Pos (silver Compressed) | 10/10/2025 | 10/10/2025 | 1d | +5.60% |
| Normal | 10/13/2025 | 10/17/2025 | 5d | +3.99% |
| Extreme Pos (silver Compressed) | 10/20/2025 | 10/27/2025 | 6d | +3.12% |
| Normal | 10/28/2025 | 11/11/2025 | 11d | +0.83% |
| Extreme Neg (silver Outperforming) | 11/12/2025 | 11/13/2025 | 2d | +1.28% |
| Normal | 11/14/2025 | 11/17/2025 | 2d | +1.39% |
| Extreme Neg (silver Outperforming) | 11/18/2025 | 11/20/2025 | 3d | +3.45% |
| Normal | 11/21/2025 | 11/25/2025 | 3d | +4.61% |
| Extreme Neg (silver Outperforming) | 11/26/2025 | 10/26/2026 | 229d | +1.98% |
Scroll inside the table for the full history. Forward 60-day SPY is measured from each run’s start date; a reader cannot trade off a start-date they only identify in hindsight, so this is a transparency log, not an alpha claim. Asterisked (*) returns are partial. The run is less than 60 trading days old. The full 60-day comparable fills in as more data arrives.
What this measures
South Africa Bushveld = world’s #1 platinum + palladium mining region. Wildfires + brush fires affect mine-site infrastructure + power supply (Eskom load-shedding correlates with grassfire+heat risk). The composite is z-scored against a trailing baseline and bounded through tanh.
Why it matters
South Africa Bushveld = world’s #1 platinum + palladium mining region. Wildfires + brush fires affect mine-site infrastructure + power supply (Eskom load-shedding correlates with grassfire+heat risk).
The signal flags the current platinum regime for the next 60 trading days on average. Pair with price-based signals for precise entry.
State-conditional spreads are empirical averages across 36 years. Individual regime windows can run longer or shorter than mean sample.
Signal consumers and siblings
Not investment advice · The analysis on this page is informational and educational. Signal readings, historical case figures, and empirical statistics are derived from publicly available data and are provided without warranty. Hypothetical performance results have inherent limitations, including the benefit of hindsight. Readers who intend to trade should consult a licensed investment professional and see the research brief for the full disclaimer.
Last refreshed Nov 06, 2026 05:25 PM ET