Palladium spot prices approached record levels on Tuesday, as the risk of a ban on certain Russian exports heightened concerns over the metal, which has recently been widely used in autocatalyst production. At the same time, gold prices rose amid expectations that the US Federal Reserve will remain calm this week.
Spot palladium is up 0.2 percent to $ 1,586.92 an ounce as of 08:14 GMT, and is well within reach of its earlier session high of $ 1,594.
" The market is still in an uncertain position, and a possible ban on Russian supplies has supported prices ," said Ajay Kedia, director of Kedia Commodities in Mumbai.
" While there are concerns about a fall in car sales, the supply shortage will be able to compensate ," he said, adding that the market is heavily overbought.
The metal price has nearly doubled since mid-August and is up about 26 percent in a year.
Russia's largest palladium producer is considering a ban on the export of waste and precious metal scrap in order to stimulate internal recycling.
Meanwhile, spot gold surged 0.1 percent to $ 1304.86 an ounce amid growing expectations that the Fed will adopt more flexible policy.
US gold futures rose about 0.2 percent to $ 1304.60
