Palladium hit a record above $1,400 an ounce on Thursday, extending a bull run that has seen the precious metal climb 65 per cent since the middle of August.
One of the platinum group metals (or PGMs), palladium is mainly used by the car industry for catalytic converters in petrol-powered vehicles. Most of the world’s supply comes from mines either Russia or South Africa.
Demand for the metal has outstripped supply consistently over the past seven years, significantly tightening the market, according to analysts. This is most evident when looking at palladium-backed exchange traded funds where holdings have fallen sharply in recent years as investors have redeemed units and taken delivery of physical metal.
Palladium, which is now more valuable than gold, rose as much as 5.5 per cent to $1,434 a troy ounce on Thursday before pulling back to $1,390. Two years ago palladium was trading at $750.
Palladium’s bull run has been assisted by shifts in the car market, particularly in Europe where consumers have shunned diesel vehicles.
In addition, carmakers in China are preparing to meet new emissions standards starting from next year, known as Euro 6, which will require more palladium to filter out harmful emissions. Palladium is also used in hybrid cars, which use an engine as well as a battery.
“We expect palladium auto demand growth to continue for a couple of years, before plateauing,” said analysts at UBS in a recent report. “Soft car sales could hurt sentiment, but growth in palladium loadings on the back of tighter emissions standards, particularly out of China, should ultimately provide a considerable demand buffer.”
Source: Financial Times
