The precious metals market has seen the price of palladium slump below platinum for the first time in over five years. Here s why a price recovery may prove hard.
South African platinum producer Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd said its profits tied to the falling price of energy transition metals such as platinum fell by more than 85% in the second half of last year
The rate at which platinum is displacing palladium in the manufacture of autocatalysts is slowing due to the sister metals approaching price parity, a trend which is likely to persist through this year, analysts said. Growing use of platinum in autocatalysts that reduce harmful emissions from internal combustion engines and rising sales of battery-powered electric vehicles was behind the 39% slump in palladium prices last year. Around 620,000 ounces of palladium were replaced by platinum in 2023 vs 385,000 ounces in 2022, according to the World Platinum Investment Council's (WPIC) November estimate.
The owner of two precious metals mines in south-central Montana is stopping work on an expansion project and laying off about 100 workers because the price of palladium fell sharply in the past year, mine representatives said Thursday. Sibanye-Stillwater announced the layoffs Wednesday at the only platinum and palladium mines in the United States, near Nye, Montana, and other Sibanye-owned facilities in Montana, including a recycling operation. Another 187 contract workers — about 67% of the mining contract workers at the mine — will also be affected.
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