El Salvador lawmakers overturn mining ban Bukele called absurd
El Salvador became the first country in the world to ban all forms of metals mining in 2017.
The price of rhodium is trading 32% up so far this year and has added nearly $400 an ounce since hitting 12-year lows mid-2016.
Rhodium’s main application is to clean vehicle emissions and the price quoted by Johnson Matthey, the world’s number one manufacturer of autocatalysts, on Monday breached $1,000 for the first time since June 2015.
Due to rarity, the small size of the market and concentrated supply – South Africa alone produces roughly 80% of the world’s rhodium – prices are typically volatile.
But rhodium (and sister metal ruthenium) stands out when it comes to price swings – the metal touched $10,025 an ounce just before the 2008 financial crisis hit, but would drop 90% before the end of that tumultuous year.
South African PGM producers extract a mix of metals comprising roughly 60% platinum, 30% palladium and 10% rhodium
Robust car sales in China and the US, where gasoline vehicles dominate, coupled with rising emissions standards worldwide has been a boost for the metal. Rhodium and palladium finds application in gasoline vehicles while diesel-powered mostly use platinum for autocatalysts. Platinum at $970 an ounce has advanced 8% in 2017, while palladium is showing gains of 19%, climbing back above $800 an ounce recently.
Rhodium has also benefitted from speculative demand. Deutsche Bank launched a rhodium exchange traded fund as far back as 2011 while South Africa’s Standard Bank listed its own physically-backed rhodium ETF at the end of 2015.
South African PGM producers extract a mix of metals comprising roughly 60% platinum, 30% palladium and 10% rhodium.
Ruthenium prices have also been moving with the metal, used in the aerospace industry thanks to a very high melting point and in distinctive jet black jewellery, scaling $50 in recent weeks.
New York-based Miguel Perez-Santalla of German precious metal trader and refiner Heraeus commented last week that “it will be interesting to see if there is truly an industrial sector that plans a new use for this at current price levels or will they abandon it if it trades much higher.”
Ruthenium prices peaked in 2007 shy of $900 an ounce, but has languished in double digits since November 2012.
Hong Kong wholesale price 99.9% rhodium. Source: Johnson Matthey
3 Comments
Pete
How best to buy small physical lots of both rhodium and ruthenium?
Luchorpan
baird mint
Also kitco
Ah, I’m not sure on ruthenium. It’s a little late to get into rhodium.
naga00
I believe that rhodium is just getting started. Clean energy and China and cars are causing the demand to increase. Rhodium has been in a bear market since it peaked in 2008 @ $10k per oz and bottomed out this summer around $650 or so. Recent rally to $1300 bid is 5 year high and the tight supply and relatively unknown meta l i believe is going to get traction. If bitcoin can go to $6k and it basically is a bunch of hype and a type of tulip adventure-then Rhodium a much needed metal for clean tech could easily run to multiple thousand of dollars in a short period of time