Platinum for immediate delivery rose above the $2,000 mark on Wednesday, reaching an all-time high of $2,001.25 per ounce before closing at $1,986 in New York, on increasing concerns that the supply shortage from South Africa, which supplies a majority of the world’s platinum, will not be solved any time soon.

Since South African mining operations were first suspended due to power supply shortages two weeks ago, the price of platinum has increased 18 percent from $1,681 on January 27.

At the beginning of the week, platinum prices were pushed higher when the South African electric utility company Eskom announced that it ran the risk of running out of cash to fund its expansion plans.

Some analysts are predicting that platinum could rise to between $2,500 and $3,000 per ounce this year.