Palladium: Trading
London, Zurich, NYMEX and long-term carmaker deals
What this tab covers How and where it is bought and sold: who buys and sells, exchanges and benchmarks, contract types, the big trading houses and how prices are discovered.Palladium trades alongside platinum in the London and Zurich over-the-counter market, with LME-run benchmark auctions under London Platinum and Palladium Market rules. NYMEX futures in New York are the main exchange contract. Automakers secure most supply under long-term contracts with miners and refiners. Trading houses such as Glencore and Trafigura bought large lots when Soviet stocks were sold (Pitron, pdf p. 64). Liquidity is thin compared with gold, so lease rates and prices can spike when deliverable metal is scarce.
Where it is bought (buyers)
- Catalyst makers (Johnson Matthey, BASF, Umicore, Heraeus) buy refined palladium on term contracts for carmakers in China, Europe, Japan, the US and India
- Electronics and chemical firms in Japan, Korea, China and Germany buy sponge and salts
- Investors buy bars, coins and ETF shares through banks and dealers in Zurich, London and New York
Where it is sold (sellers)
- Nornickel sells Russian metal to Asian and other buyers; US imports of Russian palladium stopped in August 2025 (JM)
- South African and Zimbabwean producers (Valterra, Implats, Sibanye-Stillwater, Northam) sell refined metal on term contracts and spot
- Recyclers and refiners in the US, Europe and Japan sell recovered metal
Exchanges and benchmarks
| Venue | Contract | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| NYMEX (CME Group) | Palladium futures, 100 troy oz | Main exchange contract and the usual reference for speculative positioning |
| London/Zurich OTC market (LPPM good delivery) | Spot and forward ingots and sponge, loco London or Zurich | Physical wholesale market; LBMA Platinum and Palladium Prices set twice daily by electronic auction run by the LME |
| Osaka Exchange (Japan Exchange Group) | Palladium futures | Yen-denominated contract used by Japanese investors |
| ETFs | Physically backed shares such as abrdn Physical Palladium (PALL) | Investment holdings are visible daily |
Contract types
- Annual or multi-year supply contracts between miners and catalyst makers, priced off the LBMA price or NYMEX
- Spot and forward OTC deals between banks, dealers and refiners
- Metal leasing, where lease rates spike when deliverable metal is scarce
- Toll refining and recycling contracts with payables for recovered metal
Top trading houses
- Glencore
- Trafigura
- Bullion banks and dealers in Zurich and London
- Refiner-traders: Johnson Matthey, Heraeus, Umicore
How prices are discovered
- LBMA Palladium Price (LME-administered auctions)
- NYMEX futures settlement prices
- Engelhard and other producer/fabricator prices reported by S&P Global Platts Metals Week (used by USGS)
- Annual supply-demand balances from Johnson Matthey, Metals Focus and WPIC-style research
- No Indian exchange contract; Indian buyers pay international prices plus import duty and GST