What is palladium Metal?
“Palladium” Palladium is an important component in electronics and is used in many new technologies such as fuel cells. Palladium, platinum, rhodium, ruthenium, iridium, and osmium form a group of elements referred to as the platinum group metals. It is a metal used in many types of manufacturing processes and is found in electronics and industrial products. Palladium is an element found in the periodic table (atomic number 46) and is considered to be rare.
Majority of world’s supply-
The majority of the world’s supply comes from mines located in the United States, Russia, South Africa, and Canada. More than half the annual global demand of about 10 million ounces for palladium is from the automobile sector, while a quarter is used in other industries and dentistry.
why is palladium metal price getting expensive ?
Physically backed exchange-traded funds account for some demand, and about 4% of demand comes from jewelry. Car sales in China, the world’s biggest auto market, are expected to grow by 11% this year to reach 24 million units out of the global total of 88.5 million, according to industry consultancy Frost & Sullivan. It expects U.S. sales to climb about 4% to almost 16 million.
Barclay’s analysts say the Chinese government’s plans to phase out 6 million old and environmentally unfriendly vehicles will create demand for 1.5 million passenger cars this year, which would further support the price of palladium. Palladium is also used in cars powered by natural gas, which is a growing niche offering in emerging markets such as India. Brazil, India, and Russia are expected to experience robust auto-sales growth this year. As a commodity, it has drawn the attention of investors because it is not easily substituted, and is an important component of catalytic converters.
Palladium metal properties
A cousin of platinum, palladium is shiny, silvery metal and is very rare. Not unlike platinum, an estimated 85% of palladium is used in making catalytic converters. Palladium also is frequently found in jewelry, dental work, and electronics. As with platinum, people buy palladium to hold as an asset. As of August 2020, it was trading higher than platinum gold, or silver. The price of palladium has been rising because of growing demand and a worldwide supply crunch. While there are vast price differences, platinum and palladium do share some territory with gold and silver. All of them are found in jewelry and electronics, but gold also shows up in surgical instruments satellites, and specialized glass, while silver appears in dinnerware, solar panels, and antifreeze.
