Palladium at 16 year high Palladium is up over 36% in the year-to-date and is the best performing commodity and market this year. Consumption of the rare industrial precious metal is expected to hit 10.8 million ounces this year, an all-time high. Demand from the automotive industry, the biggest buyer of the metal, is up 4% this year. Due to the high demand and limited availability of palladium there is market deficit of over 1 million ounces. The apparent five-year-long market deficit has begun to impact the availability of above-ground stocks. This has prompted leasing rates to dramatically increase, taking the palladium market into backwardation of around 5-10%/year. Much of palladium’s increased demand is thanks to increased demand for SUV vehicles which have to abide by tightening emission legislation from the EU. The latest announcement in the UK regarding a ban on diesel engines will also help to boost demand as consumers shift from diesel to petrol engines. This suggests that there is little let-up for the tight supply conditions the palladium market is currently experiencing. GOLDCORE/BLOG/MARK O’BYRNE.8/19/17 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Pal getting Top Dollar for their Palladium right now as supply gets tighter their PPS should rise