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Palladium Poised to Break Another Record Just Days Into New Year

The year’s barely started and palladium markets are set to break another record.

Palladium Poised to Break Another Record Just Days Into New Year
A mine technician, stirs an ore slurry that assists in separating sulfides from waste rock to extract platinum and palladium. (Photographer: Chip Chipman/Bloomberg News)

(Bloomberg) -- The year’s barely started and palladium markets are set to break another record.

The spot price for the precious metal only needs to climb by another 1.6 percent in London trading to push past an all-time high that’s stood for 17 years. At the current pace of gains, that could happen within days.

New York futures for the metal, used to cut car exhaust fumes, already touched the highest for a most-active contract in records going back to 1986.

Palladium Poised to Break Another Record Just Days Into New Year

Other commodities have a lot further to go.

Gold is about a third off its record of $1,921.17 an ounce reached in 2011, Brent crude is trading at half its peak and wheat would need to triple to approach an all-time high.

Palladium Poised to Break Another Record Just Days Into New Year

One risk for palladium is if carmakers start looking to cheaper alternatives like platinum.

To contact the reporter on this story: Eddie van der Walt in London at evanderwalt@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Lynn Thomasson at lthomasson@bloomberg.net, Tony Barrett, Nicholas Larkin

©2018 Bloomberg L.P.