Why palladium swings so hard
The market is small and supply is concentrated. Russia and South Africa produce most of it, and a lot of that output is a byproduct of nickel and platinum mining. Miners can't raise palladium output just because the price is high, so shortages and gluts take years to fix.
Electric cars don't need catalytic converters at all. As their share of new car sales grows, analysts watch palladium demand closely.
The LBMA Palladium Price is set twice each business day, at 09:45 and 14:00 London time, alongside platinum.
Common questions
- What is palladium used for?
- Mostly catalytic converters on gasoline cars, which turn toxic exhaust gases into less harmful ones. Electronics, dentistry and jewelry use the rest.
- Why did palladium cost more than gold for a while?
- Tighter emissions rules and a long run of gasoline car sales pushed demand above mine supply in the late 2010s. Palladium passed gold in 2019 and traded above $3,000 an ounce in March 2022, then fell back as carmakers switched some converters to cheaper platinum and electric car sales grew.
- Where does palladium come from?
- Russia and South Africa mine most of the world's palladium. Much of it comes out of the ground alongside nickel or platinum, so output depends on those metals too.