Palladium Near Three Year High on Pay Strike

Palladium rose to the highest since August 2011 after South African mining companies and a labor union failed to reach an accord to end a pay strike. Gold fell to a 15-week low as Russia said it will respect the vote for Ukraine’s new leader.

Palladium has risen 13 percent since Jan. 23, when the workers walked out. The country’s new mining minister will talk with the companies after meeting leadership of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union yesterday, his department said in a statement on its website. South Africa is the world’s second-biggest producer.

The producers say they have lost 20 billion rand ($1.9 billion) in revenue. Platinum- and palladium-backed fund holdings are at a record, as shortages build for a third straight year and amid tension between Ukraine and Russia, the biggest palladium supplier. Demand will top supplies by 1.6 million ounces in 2014, the most ever, according to Johnson Matthey Plc.

Bloomberg

Content is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please access the RSS feed or contact us at info@marketpulse.com. Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets. © 2023 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.