The global 2017 palladium supply will shrink by 2%, to 6.631 million ounces or 206 tons, and Russian sales will decline by 3%, to 2.684 million ounces or 83 tons, meaning that deficit will widen to 24.4 tons, Johnson Matthey, the world’s largest refiner of platinum and palladium, said in a research note on May 16.
In 2016, global palladium sales rose by 5%, to 6.77 million ounces, and demand grew by 23%. Russia’s palladium output decreased by 2%, to 2.53 million ounces, which was much better than the 2.30-2.39 million ounces projected by Norilsk Nickel, the country’s biggest producer of the metal.
Norilsk Nickel managed to boost its palladium sales to 2.77 million ounces using additional sources. (Prime/Ukrainian metal)