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Palladium surged the most intra-day since 2008 on Friday as scant supply and robust demand extended a record-breaking rally.

Spot palladium jumped as much as 9,7 percent to an all-time high of $2 539,14 an ounce. The metal rallied to post its best week since 2001 and shows little sign of slowing down, even as some analysts caution that prices may be due for a pull-back.

While palladium’s rally has been driven by supply deficits and surging demand, the increases have exceeded market forecasts, said Rene Hochreiter, an analyst at Noah Capital Markets, who expects spot prices could retreat to average $2 250 an ounce for the rest of the year.

“Prices do not go up forever and the recent run should see a correction, though the fundamental shortfalls will not go away anytime soon,” Hochreiter said.

“A modest recovery in the auto sector along with tighter emissions regulations should lend support,” ANZ strategists Daniel Hynes and Soni Kumari said in a report. Still, a “price setback is possible for palladium following its impressive rally this year”. — fin24.com