The price of palladium in GBP, per ounce, for the past 15 years.
The price of an ounce of Palladium peaked yesterday at $1,810.50 - a new all-time record. The scarce metal has high industrial demand but limited supply, and this is a big driving factor in the precious metal's gains in the past six months; up 26.05% or $370.50 per ounce.
Demand has risen particularly in the past year following a push from the Chinese government to cut pollution levels in the country's major cities - pollution which, until recently, had led to a deterioration in the health of the public and as such a drop in national productivity.
Russia and South Africa are the primary miners of palladium, which is a byproduct of mining platinum and nickel - metals that both countries are famous for and amongst the largest producers. Despite their sizeable output compared to other nations, the reality is that palladium is a scarce metal in the ground.
Palladium has already benefited from the Volkswagen scandal of 2015 and the impact that had upon diesel cars (which use platinum in their exhausts), but even with the advent of hybrid cars and electric cars, metals like platinum, palladium and silver will continue to be sought after - demand that investors are taking into account by acquiring what palladium they can at present.
Automotive manufacturers will be hoping that countries like South Africa and Zimbabwe can increase their platinum output in the coming years in order to increase their palladium output, but with hesitant investors and a disgruntled workforce, it's more likely that palladium will continue to gain value at least in the short-term.
