New York — There’s no stopping the palladium rally. The metal used to curb pollution from petrol-fuelled engines climbed to a record high on the New York Mercantile Exchange as the dollar weakened for a fifth straight session, boosting the appeal of raw materials as an alternative investment. Palladium inventories in warehouses tracked by Nymex shrank 25% in December, capping a fourth straight annual decline, the longest streak since 2000. Palladium climbed 55% in 2017, the best performance among 34 most actively traded commodity futures tracked by Bloomberg. Prices surged as robust car sales added to demand, with supplies of the metal expected to tighten further. Palladium production will continue to lag behind consumption until at least 2022, Morgan Stanley analysts forecast in a recent report. "People are worried about shortages," said Peter Thomas, a senior vice-president at Zaner Group in Chicago. "The market took off on short supply, good demand and a weak dollar, and ran into...
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