What You Should Know About The Precious Metal Palladium?

Palladium was discovered by William Wollaston in 1803.  It derived its name from the asteroid named Pallas which was the name for the Greek Goddess of Wisdom.  It is a silver white, lustrous metal that has the abbreviation Pd.  It is used in the manufacture of jewelry, electronics and general industry.  Palladium is considered a precious metal due to its rarity.  This metal is often sold at a very high price. 

Most consumers will recognize this metal because of its use in electronics.  Palladium is the metal that is often removed from electronic devices for recycling purposes. 

This metal is often utilized in combination with platinum.  It is quite flexible hence it is easy to work with and the fact that it is not easily tarnished makes it suitable for use in industry.  The cold metal has a high tensile strength.  Palladium is used in surgical instrument manufacture and to make jewelry, particularly during the making of white gold which is a cast made of a combination of gold with an added white metal. 

Palladium forms part of the platinum group.  In this particular group, palladium is considered to be a soft metal.  Not only is it resistant to tarnish, but it is also resistant to chemical erosion and high heat.  It is for these reasons that the metal is popularly used as a catalyst and it has well defined and established chemical and physical properties.

Palladium has not been known as an expensive metal, however, it can be costly due to scarcity.  Jewelry made from a pure form of Palladium is often only sold by exclusive retailers.

 

Price Determining Factors of Palladium

This metal is sold in a variety of ways.  Investors tend to look at the pricing structure in two ways, namely the current price and the futures contract price.  Both these methods of pricing are highly volatile.  Demand is a price determining factor and there are investment analysts who claim the metal’s price rises and falls in direct relation to precious metals such as silver and gold.  The demand for platinum, in raw or other form, pushes the price up and down.

National demand is another price determining factor.  In the event that a growing region shows a demand for the metal, the price will experience a sudden hike.

Not only does demand affect the price, so does supply.  South Africa and Russia are the main producing countries of the metal and when supply is below the demand level, there is usually a price hike. 

The key to successful investment in palladium is being knowledgeable about the potential change in price as affected by supply and demand.  There are gold buying companies who have a distinct interest in palladium and are willing to buy it from investors.  If you have stock of palladium that you wish to sell, it is best that you choose a reliable buyer who shows integrity.  The answer is to keep up to date with pricing on the metal, so you will have an idea as to what the selling price should be.

By, Kevin Robbins

Gold Solutions, LLC