Palladium, a platinum-group metal often seen as a cheaper alternative to platinum, has hit the price of $872.90 a troy ounce as of July 8. This is the highest price for the metal since 2001, the Wall Street Journal noted. Palladium has been increasing in price continuously for the past 13 years and trading sessions.
Experts credit the price rise to precautions about the decreasing supply as South African miners are on a strike. Experts also credit it to an increasing demand of palladium, especially by automakers. As it stands, South Africa is one of the main suppliers of palladium as well as platinum globally. The price of platinum has also soared due to the strike.
Palladium is mainly used in autocatalysts for automobile manufacturing and has increasingly been used in jewellery. Since February, the metal has gained more than a quarter of its value.
“We have supply concerns in South Africa and increasing demand in China and U.S., the largest markets for platinum/palladium demand,” Carlos Sanchez, from CPM Group in New York, told Reuters. CJ
