Rhodium to rise as much as 35% as car sales accelerate, SA mine output slumps

Rhodium will climb as much as 35% to $2,800 an ounce by the end of the year on increased carmaker demand and production difficulties for mining companies in South Africa where the metal is produced as a byproduct of platinum mining, according to a report by Standard Bank released on Monday.

Mainly used in emissions reducing converters and in the chemical and glass industries rhodium is down 14% this year after three annual surpluses but jumped 21% in the week after Deutsche Bank introduced a physically backed exchange-traded product at the end of May. The price of rhodium hit an all-time record high above $10,000 in 2008.

Bloomberg reports:

Rhodium may account for about 10 percent of an average mine’s output in South Africa, compared with about 30 percent for palladium and 60 percent for platinum.

Reuters reported at the beginning of June on Deutsche Bank’s launch of physically backed exchange traded products:

Both of Deutche’s funds, which are listed in London, are registered to hold up to 100,000 ounces of the metal each, which together would account for a quarter of total supply in 2010.

2 Comments