A palladium exchange traded fund gained over 4% on Friday amid the rally in precious metals on renewed hopes that Europe will have a plan to subdue the debt crisis. Russia vowed to end its palladium sales.
ETFS Physical Palladium Shares (NYSEArca: PALL) was up 4.4% at last check Friday.
VelocityShares 2x Long Palladium ETN (NYSEArca: LPAL) and VelocityShares 2x Inverse Palladium ETN (NYSEArca: IPAL) are leveraged palladium trackers launched earlier this month.
Physical commodities have been on the decline as the Eurozone’s worsening finances threaten global stability and commodity demand. However, traders are optimistic that the European summit in Brussels this weekend will set a plan in place.
Earlier this week, Russian announced that it will diminish its palladium exports next year and the year after, and suspend all sales from government stockpiles after 2013, reports WSJ.com.
“Over the last 20 years Russia has been a swing factor in palladium,” Tim Murray, general manager of U.S. operations at Johnson Matthey, said. “Moving forward, if the fundamentals hold, we could see deficits in palladium.”
Palladium can be found in car filters, industrial catalysts, electronics and jewelry. While South Africa holds 80% of the world’s palladium reserves, Russia’s stockpiles have kept global supply at a surplus.
Palladium contracts for December delivery was up more than 5% at one point Friday.
ETFS Physical Palladium Shares
For more information on palladium, visit our palladium category.
Max Chen contributed to this article.