Posted on 07/10/2023 2:58:28 PM PDT by FarCenter
TOKYO -- The asking price for precious metals commonly found in catalytic converters has fallen to lows not seen in several years as demand declines in China, the world's largest automobile market.
The most commonly traded futures for palladium hit a price of $1,204 per troy ounce in the New York market on June 28, a low not seen in four and a half years. The metal currently trades around $1,240, down 30% from the beginning of the year.
Catalytic converters in automobile exhaust systems use precious metals such as palladium to transform harmful gases into less-toxic pollutants.
Russia produces 40% of the world's palladium. The Ukraine war sparked supply chain concerns that sent the price of palladium to a record high surpassing $3,400 in March of last year. Prices started plunging in the latter half of 2022.
Rhodium, another catalytic converter metal, is selling for $3,990 per troy ounce on the London spot market, a roughly four-year low. The international price of platinum, used to scrub diesel exhaust, has sunk to a low not seen in about nine months.
As 80% to 90% of demand for palladium and rhodium originates from catalytic converters, prices are swayed heavily by the production plans of major automakers.
China accounts for about 20% of demand for catalytic converter metals, but the country's economy is struggling to recover from the pandemic and Beijing's restrictive zero-COVID policies. China's official purchasing managers' index stood at 49.0 in June, below the boom-or-bust line of 50 for the third consecutive month.
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"Investors are becoming bearish on palladium over the long term as the shift from gasoline vehicles to EVs is expected to continue, especially in China," said Bruce Ikemizu of the Japan Bullion Market Association.
(Excerpt) Read more at asia.nikkei.com ...
Whew...fewer CC thieves will result, we can only hope.
Interesting that it is a dienturn in car sales, and not a widespread embrace of EVs that caused the slump
Can’t they just add it as an ingredient to pet food and old people medicine?
Is that a demand slowdown or a result of US tariffs?
I’ve been wondering about platinum an palladium values of late.
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