Though rhodium has seen strong demand in recent weeks, more offers from scrap recyclers and dealers could keep prices steady, analysts with German precious metals refiner Heraeus said Monday.
The Platts New York Dealer price range for rhodium held steady last week at $1,000-$1,040/oz, marking the third consecutive week of no or marginal price increases.
Heraeus analysts noted that rhodium prices dipped early last week on lower offers, but had largely recovered by the week's end on higher sales.
"The market remained extremely competitive for the entire week in [a] tightly focused environment paired with strong sales," Heraeus analysts said in a report.
"Since industrial customers continue to express an interest in buying, we do not foresee any significant reduction in price. However, potential sellers are quite willing to sell their holdings at the current level, which means that we could see a similar scenario once again in the coming week, and the price may only move sideways," they added.
Rhodium prices rose steadily in the first quarter to $980-$1,025/oz before declining in the second quarter to a low of $890-$930/oz.
The market began rallying in early June on industrial demand and some investment bank buying, but hit its current level by the end of the month.
Nearly 80% of the 800,000 oz of rhodium produced each year is used in automobile catalytic converters to reduce certain greenhouse gas emissions.
But scrap recyclers specializing in the recovery of rhodium, platinum and palladium from catalytic converters resell the metal to industrial consumers and speculative investors.
