The Learn About Futures Insider: Palladium

Contract Size: 100 troy ounces

Price Quote & Tick Size:US Dollars and cents per ounce; minimum tick size is $0.05 (5�) per troy ounce ($5.00 per contract).

Contract Months: Trading is conducted over 15 months, beginning with the current month and the next two consecutive months before moving into the quarterly cycle of March, June, September, and December.

Trading Specs: Open outcry trading is conducted from 8:30 AM until 1:00 PM ET. Electronic trading is conducted from 6:00 PM until 5:15 PM ET via the CME Globex� trading platform, Sunday through Friday. There is a 45-minute break each day between 5:15PM (current trade date) and 6:00 PM (next trade date).

Daily Price Limit: As of date of initial publishing, there were no daily limits; however, it is wise to consult the exchange.

Trading Symbols: PA
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Past performance is not indicative of future results.
***chart courtesy of Gecko Software

Palladium Facts

This precious metal is one of six metallic elements collectively known as platinum group metals (PGM). The other five members of PGM include ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, osmium, and iridium.

The official discovery of palladium is attributed to William Hyde Wollaston in 1803, who named the element after an asteroid - Pallas. Palladium is found in ore deposits in Russia, Australia, South and North America. Palladium may often be tied closely to nickel production in places like South Africa, Siberia, and Ontario, Canada. It can also be found in gold or copper ores.

Palladium sources on a global level are illustrated as follows:
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Palladium is soft and silver-white like platinum and does not tarnish in air. It is harder and lighter than platinum.

Where commercial deposits are concerned, the largest estimated deposits - over 90% of the world total - occur at the Bushveld Igneous Complex in South Africa and in Norilsk in Siberia. Palladium can also be recycled. According to the USGS, nearly 10,400 kilograms of platinum group metals were recovered from scrap in 2006.

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*Data courtesy of the USGS

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*Data courtesy of the USGS

Key terms for palladium include:

Bushveld Igneous Complex - location of an important palladium mine in South Africa.
Auto Catalysts - one of the primary uses of palladium, precious metals act as catalysts in catalytic converters to reduce emissions from internal combustion engines.
Annealing - in metallurgy, a means to alter the strength or hardness properties of a material with a heat treatment.

Key Uses

Palladium is hypoallergenic and can be used in jewelry manufacture, wearing better than white gold. In fact, it has been empolyed as a jewelry metal since 1939. However, the primary destination for nearly 50 percent of palladium is automobile catalysts. Palladium absorbs large quantities of hydrogen and can also be used to store the same. It is also used as plating for electronics, dental alloys, watch making, surgical instruments, and blood sugar test strips.

Key Concerns

Regional Concentration: Like platinum, a huge percentage of current palladium mining is also confined primarily to South Africa and Russia, leaving the door open for the possibility that any political concerns or regional activity could affect supply. An excellent example of this could be the recent sales of palladium from Russian stockpiles, since the overall stockpiles held by the central bank and state are unknown.

Perceived Scarcity: As with other platinum group metals, the possible or perceived global availability of palladium may impact forecasts for future supply.

Applications: New applications, as well as an increase in the existing technologies which employ platinum group metals, could shift the supply and demand dynamics rather quickly. The continued efforts to control emissions are significant especially with a possible shift to palladium rather than platinum.

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