Rhodium prices moved closer to $1,500/oz this week, mostly on speculative interest from East Asia and small amounts of commercial buying from Europe.
The Platts New York Dealer rhodium price range rose to $1,300-1,475/oz from $1,270-1,325 last week. Rhodium last held the $1,500 level in March 2012.
Rhodium crept higher all week, as reflected in the rising base prices of European refining giants Johnson Matthey of the UK and Engelhard Materials Services (BASF) of Germany, both of which began the week at $1,335/oz.
But the biggest price increase occurred Wednesday evening, with multiple bids posted on the private Comdaq electronic trading platform, sources said.
"It really wasn't for a lot of metal, but it did push it up that last $75/oz in one evening," one PGM physical dealer said Thursday. "I don't know if that's a signal of anything real."
Market activity appeared to quiet down the following day, with most trades done between $1,440/oz and $1,460/oz, one PGM refiner said.
"It was a combination of speculative demand out of Asia, with a lot of Hong Kong players coming into the market, and in Europe some commercial people coming in," a second PGM refiner said.
The buying from East Asia appeared to be short covering rather than new longs coming into the market, the second refiner added. "There's apparently a real lack of spot material in the Far East," he said.
Sources were universally cautious on whether rhodium prices would continue upward, given the size of the market and the amount of recycled rhodium being offered on a regular basis.
Like platinum and palladium, rhodium is used in automobile catalytic converters to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, particularly in Europe, and recycled rhodium is a major supply source.
Rhodium prices are now likely to hover around current levels in the near term as market players reassess their needs, the PGM dealer cited earlier said. "It's probably going to sit here for awhile before people start to feel comfortable again."
The first PGM refiner agreed, saying the market was likely to move sideways or even give back some of its gains. But unlike speculative-driven rally in May during Platinum Week in London, the current rally appears stronger, he said.
"It might not hold exactly at these levels, but my guess is that we'll keep most of these gains," the refiner said.
