Bengaluru — Palladium rose to a record high on Thursday on lower supply and increasing demand for the metal used in auto catalysts, while a firmer dollar offset the expectation of a pause in the US Federal Reserve’s rate-hiking cycle, keeping gold steady. The price of palladium, used mainly in emissions-reducing catalysts for vehicles, is up more than 60% since marking a trough in mid-August. Prices for the metal overtook gold for the first time in 16 years early in December 2018. Spot palladium was up 0.1% at $1,360/oz, as of 3.50am GMT, after earlier hitting a record high of $1,366.50/oz. “For now palladium is gripped by a serious supply shortage and so until that lifts, we may very well see even higher prices from here,” INTL FC Stone analyst Edward Meir said. Spot gold was steady at $1,292.76/oz, while US gold futures dipped 0.1% to $1,292.30/oz. Risks to the US economic recovery, no end in sight to a partial government shutdown and volatile stock markets have made several Feder...

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