Palladium firms near record, gold accelerates as Ukraine worries mount

Palladium hovered marginally below an all-time peak in volatile trading on Tuesday as the Russia-Ukraine crisis fuelled worries of a supply squeeze of the metal, while safe-haven gold remained unperturbed above the key $2,000 level and gained further.

Spot palladium fell 0.2% to $2,990.14 by 1406 GMT. It swung between gains and losses, rising as much as 7.5% and falling 3.4% in choppy price action.

Investors also took stock of the London Platinum and Palladium Market's statement that Russian refiners can continue to sell platinum and palladium in London. Removal of palladium, traders and analysts said, would have worsened worries over supply from major producer Russia.

The metal has surged about 60% so far this year, having hit a record high of $3,440.76 on Monday.

In the event of shortages, car manufacturers would be willing to pay almost any price for the metal to keep up production, said Saxo bank analyst Ole Hansen.

Spot gold rose nearly 0.9% to $2,016.30 per ounce, after climbing to $2,020.80, its highest since August 2020, earlier in the day. Platinum rose 2.4% to $1,149.37.

Gold continues to be a low volatility safe haven, said Saxo bank analyst Ole Hansen. "We are going to face a period of extremely high inflation where central banks will be struggling to put up a defence because of other constraints. And that will continue to attract investors into the gold market."

Gold is traditionally considered a safe store of value during such global crises and soaring inflation as oil prices surge. [O/R]

U.S. gold futures rose 1.2% to $2,020.60. Spot silver rose 2.2% to $26.23.

Meanwhile, the market has scaled back the probability of a 50 basis hike from the U.S. Federal Reserve, "which has removed some of the resistance for gold prices," said Xiao Fu, head of commodities markets strategy at Bank of China International.

 

(Reporting by Bharat Govind Gautam and Seher Dareen in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri and Shinjini Ganguli)