Commodities Are On The Roll
Gold is sitting at ATHs. This has been driven in a huge buying by the Central Banks that might have lost confidence in the US paper. This is also a delayed reaction to the dollar debasement we have seen over the last few years.
Copper has blown up after Trump imposed tariffs on it.
Platinum is also doing well:
Platinum and palladium are both platinum group metals (PGMs) — a family of six chemically similar elements — and they share many physical and chemical properties, which gives them overlapping industrial uses. Here's a breakdown of their relationship:
Industrial and Chemical Similarities
Both are used as catalysts, especially in automotive catalytic converters to reduce emissions.
Palladium is more commonly used in gasoline engines.
Platinum is more used in diesel engines (though its usage declined due to the diesel emissions scandal).
Both are resistant to corrosion and oxidation, making them useful in jewelry, electronics, and industrial applications
Substitution and Price Relationship
Because they are chemically similar, industries often substitute one for the other based on price and availability.
When palladium gets expensive, manufacturers look to switch to platinum, and vice versa.
This creates a strong inverse pricing relationship at times, but not always — supply/demand and investor speculation can cause divergence.
Supply Characteristics
Both are primarily mined as by-products of nickel and platinum mining.
Russia is a major producer of palladium (especially from Norilsk Nickel).
South Africa dominates platinum supply.
if Trump were to impose restrictions on dealing with Russia’s palladium, it would drive the prices higher but the calls liquidity is poor and spreads are very wide. In short, hard to play it at these prices.
Finally, Silver has been on the roll as well:
Closed down a trade on SLV options today for 52% gain so we give thanks!
