American Eagle and South African Krugerrand gold bars are listed for sale at the Chicago Coin Company on May 11, 2006 in Chicago, Illinois.
Scott Olson | Getty Images
Palladium extended its rally to near a 10-month high within striking distance of $3,000 an ounce on Friday as fears of a lack of supply from Russia’s biggest producer and war in Ukraine bolstered safe-haven gold demand.
Spot palladium was up 6.1% to $2,943.56 an ounce as of 10:27 AM EST (15:27 GMT) after hitting $2,970.50, a peak not seen since May 2021.
Russia accounts for 40% of global autocatalyst metal production, which was set to rise 24% this week, the best performance since the end of March 2020.
“There is a growing consensus that Russia is not slowing down its military campaign and you will see sanctions get a lot tougher and it will really undermine business to get your hands on these palladium supplies,” said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA. .
“Flight bans, logistics issues and sanctions will keep palladium very optimistic because it comes at a time when demand is starting to pick up significantly.”
Spot gold jumped 1% to $1,954.53 an ounce and is up about 3.5% for the week. US gold futures rose 1.1% to $1956.70.
“The Russian-Ukrainian crisis will continue to support the prospect of higher prices for precious metals,” said Saxo Bank analyst Ole Hansen.
“This is not only because of the potential short-term asylum claim that will wax and wane, but more importantly, what this strain will mean for inflation, growth and expectations of higher rates by central banks.”
Considered a safe store of value during such uncertainty, precious metals have largely ignored a 1% jump in the dollar – an alternative safe haven – and the possibility of an interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve later this month. Wall Street stocks tumbled as concerns over conflict in Ukraine overshadowed strong U.S. job growth last month.
Spot silver rose 1.2% to $25.45 an ounce and was set to rise for the fifth straight week. Platinum rose 2.5% to $1,108.19.