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Palladium Reaches Record on Mounting Concerns Over Tight Supply

Palladium climbed near a record as the U.S. plans to pull out of the nuclear weapons pact with Russia.

Palladium Reaches Record on Mounting Concerns Over Tight Supply
Palladium wedding bands are displayed for a photograph in a Fortunoff store in New York (Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg News.)  

(Bloomberg) -- Palladium climbed to a record on concerns about tightening supplies of the metal, which is mainly used in catalytic converters that curb vehicle emissions.

Prices rose as much as 1.8 percent in London, pacing gains among precious metals. The rally accelerated in recent days amid growing political tensions between the U.S. and Russia, one of the top producers of palladium, as well as stimulus measures in key consumer China. Investors are also piling in, with speculators’ bullish bets at the highest since June.

More broadly, the metal has been supported by consumers turning toward gasoline cars, which tend to use more palladium in autocatalysts, instead of diesel. Palladium is heading for a third straight annual gain as analysts predict deeper supply deficits.

Palladium Reaches Record on Mounting Concerns Over Tight Supply

“Palladium is higher because of expectations of stimulus in China, and higher gold prices are also helping,” said Georgette Boele, an analyst at ABN Amro Bank NV. Still, she suggested that prices may have got ahead of fundamentals in the short term.

Palladium was up 1.1 percent at $1,136.41 an ounce by 12:14 p.m. in London. Prices have gained about 7 percent this year, outperforming other major precious metals.

Output will trail demand by 481,000 ounces this year and deficits will persist through 2020, leading to the “tightest” market in two decades, Citigroup Inc. said in a note in late September.

Speculators are becoming increasingly bullish. The net-long position held by money managers has increased each week over the past couple of months, U.S. government data show.

The scramble for supply has created a lucrative business of lending the metal, spurring withdrawals from exchange-traded funds. Holdings in ETFs fell to 24.9 metric tons as of Monday, the lowest since 2009, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Palladium Reaches Record on Mounting Concerns Over Tight Supply

The U.S.’s plan to pull out of a nuclear weapons pact with Russia is increasing tensions between the nations, and may be adding to concerns about future supply. Moscow-based MMC Norilsk Nickel PJSC produced 2.78 million ounces in 2017, the most of all the companies tracked by Bloomberg Intelligence.

In other precious metals:
  • Gold climbed 1 percent to $1,234.02 an ounce in London, reaching the highest since mid-July.
  • Silver gained 1.1 percent and platinum added 0.6 percent.

To contact the reporters on this story: Marvin G. Perez in New York at mperez71@bloomberg.net;Rupert Rowling in London at rrowling@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Luzi Ann Javier at ljavier@bloomberg.net, ;Lynn Thomasson at lthomasson@bloomberg.net, Nicholas Larkin, Liezel Hill

©2018 Bloomberg L.P.