Palladium, the precious metal used to reduce emissions in gasoline-powered engines, recently saw its price climb to record highs this week, after prices declined in gold and silver, this week's recent data from the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) showed.
The price of palladium hit an all-time high on Sept. 30 despite the automotive sales contraction for the 14th time in the last 15 months in September in the word's largest auto market, China, NYMEX data showed.
Much of palladium's recent rally is attributed to jitters of a supply deficit for the metal. This comes amid expectations that a successful Sino-American trade deal would push auto sales higher in China, which would then raise demand for palladium.
The metal, which converts around 90% of harmful gases in auto gases, like carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide, into less harmful substances, saw its price hit a record high level of $1,702.20 per ounce (28.35 grams) on Sept. 30 on the spot market.
While this marks a 34.25% gain year-to-date, after ending 2018 at $1,267.90 per ounce, it also represented an 11% increase last month after the metal closed in August at $1,533 per ounce, according to official figures from NYMEX.
As the price of palladium climbed, gold and silver saw prices fall from record high levels, echoing the shift in investor demand for specific precious metals.
Despite strong gains over the summer period due to high demand, the price of gold is now trading at its lowest level in almost two months. Gold fell to as low as $1,465 per ounce on Oct. 1 -- its lowest level since Aug. 5, according to the official figures.
This shows the yellow metal was down 6.5% on Oct. 1 since recording its all-time high of $1,566.20 per ounce on Sept. 4 on the Comex division of the NYMEX.
Silver also decreased to as low as $16.94 per ounce on Oct. 1, down 14.2% from its record high level of $19.75 per ounce on Sept. 4, NYMEX figures show.
By Ovunc Kutlu
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr