Palladium had the most tumultuous decade of all the precious metals. Although it's hard to imagine today, it started the century more expensive than platinum. While gold and silver were languishing in 2000, palladium was soaring. During the technology bubble, a perceived shortage of tantalum caused producers of cell phones and other electronic gadgets to switch to palladium which was then much cheaper. As the price zoomed, Ford feared that it would not get enough of the element from Russia. The corporation bought large quantities in panic, pushing the price over US$1000.
However, Russia continued to unload its stockpile of palladium that it accumulated in the 1970s and 1980s under the Soviets. The cell phone dilemma was resolved by a switch to silver alloys. Palladium’s price crashed back to earth due to a sudden surplus, which led to a loss of $1 billion for Ford. The bottom finally formed in the spring of 2003 at approximately $150, but palladium took more than two years to begin a lasting uptrend due to heavy Russian destocking. (more)
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