• 545 days Will The ECB Continue To Hike Rates?
  • 545 days Forbes: Aramco Remains Largest Company In The Middle East
  • 547 days Caltech Scientists Succesfully Beam Back Solar Power From Space
  • 947 days Could Crypto Overtake Traditional Investment?
  • 952 days Americans Still Quitting Jobs At Record Pace
  • 954 days FinTech Startups Tapping VC Money for ‘Immigrant Banking’
  • 957 days Is The Dollar Too Strong?
  • 957 days Big Tech Disappoints Investors on Earnings Calls
  • 958 days Fear And Celebration On Twitter as Musk Takes The Reins
  • 959 days China Is Quietly Trying To Distance Itself From Russia
  • 960 days Tech and Internet Giants’ Earnings In Focus After Netflix’s Stinker
  • 964 days Crypto Investors Won Big In 2021
  • 964 days The ‘Metaverse’ Economy Could be Worth $13 Trillion By 2030
  • 965 days Food Prices Are Skyrocketing As Putin’s War Persists
  • 967 days Pentagon Resignations Illustrate Our ‘Commercial’ Defense Dilemma
  • 968 days US Banks Shrug off Nearly $15 Billion In Russian Write-Offs
  • 971 days Cannabis Stocks in Holding Pattern Despite Positive Momentum
  • 972 days Is Musk A Bastion Of Free Speech Or Will His Absolutist Stance Backfire?
  • 972 days Two ETFs That Could Hedge Against Extreme Market Volatility
  • 974 days Are NFTs About To Take Over Gaming?
U.S Targets Russian Gold Stockpiles

U.S Targets Russian Gold Stockpiles

In its latest round of…

Is It Time To Pay Attention To Gold Miners?

Is It Time To Pay Attention To Gold Miners?

The invasion of Ukraine by…

AG Metalminer

AG Metalminer

AGmetalminer.com

MetalMiner is the largest metals-related media site in the US according to third party ranking sites. With a preemptive global perspective on the issues, trends,…

Contact Author

  1. Home
  2. Commodities
  3. Precious Metals

Is Palladium The New Gold?

Palladium

After surging more than 50 percent in the last four months, palladium — that previously little-discussed Platinum Group Metal (PGM) — reached $1,255.12/ounce, surpassing gold for the first time in 16 years last week, according to The New York Times.

Driven by both investor and trade interest, palladium appears to be responding to strong demand from the auto industry (from which where 80 percent of its consumption comes).

A swing to petrol engines has boosted palladium demand, in preference to its sister metal, platinum, which is used more in diesel engines. The metal is also used in alloys for products like surgical instruments, dental alloys, and certain electronic applications, The New York Times notes, but it is a combination of catalyst demand and constrained supply that has caused shortages, leading some dealers to run out of metal.

According to the report, citing consulting firm Metals Focus, demand for the metal for catalytic applications will reach a record high of 8.5 million ounces this year. Tighter emissions legislation and the switch to petrol cars is driving surging demand, such that consumption is expected to outstrip supply by 1.2 million ounces this year, with the market remaining in deficit next year.

Miners have found it difficult to keep up.

Mines in South Africa, in particular, have faced worker disruption and are said to be struggling to cover costs, as PGM prices generally remain depressed but mine inflation challenges profitability and deters investment. Related: The Corporate Buyback Bubble Is Bursting

The world’s largest producer is Norilsk Nickel in Russia. Buyers were heartened by the firm’s announcement last week that it plans to invest $12 billion in mine expansion over the next five years, according to The NewYork Times report. Supply may come onto the market just as the long-anticipated but equally delayed arrival of electric vehicles finally begins to become a reality.

But for now, the metal seems a good bet for 2019, providing vehicle sales do not falter. Investors have driven Palladium ETFs up 12.3 percent this year, even as gold has fallen by 6.4 percent.

The big money has been made, but palladium’s fundamentals remain better than gold’s — providing global growth and vehicle sales hold up in 2019.

By AG Metal Miner

More Top Reads From Safehaven.com

Back to homepage

Leave a comment

Leave a comment