increase. Still this metal is expected to continue to be in surplus. Recently, I asked Philip Newman, the Director of Metals Focus (@metalsfocus), a London-based independent precious metals consultancy group to comment on the outlook for plat- inum and palladium in 2019. Here is what Philip had to say: Platinum has fallen to a record discount to gold of $526. That said, Metals Focus still expects platinum prices to eventually firm this year, especially towards end-2019. However, this is premised on our view of a stronger gold price. In other words, plat- inum will continue to face headwinds of unsupportive supply and demand. In trying to gauge professional investor sentiment in recent weeks, the absence of

The demand for new automobile catalyst climbed to record levels last year amidst a shortage of palladium, a surplus of platinum, and an increasing supply of rhodium.

up-to-date CFTC data has led us to review Nymex open interest. Having fallen for much of January, open interest has since risen through to mid-February. In our view, subdued weak insti- tutional sentiment towards platinum indicates that the rise in open interest rep- resents an increase in gross short positions. Palladium has con- tinued to strengthen this year, achieving a new record high of $1,439 on January 17. Key to this is the ongoing physical

deficit in the palladium market, which this year is expected by Metals Focus to reach 1Moz.

Looking ahead, we believe palladium prices will continue to rise this year. Even so, palladium’s record high prices increase the risk of near-term profit taking,

although any downturn in the palladium price should be short-lived. In summary, 2018 was a great year for both vehicle and autocatalyst recycling. At this time, 2019 looks to be more of the same. This is why we, at United Catalyst Corporation, believe that recyclers can get the most from their converters with the scientific process of selling converters on assay. For questions about selling con- verters on assay or copies of this article or previous articles in this series, email me or go to unitedcatalystcorporation.com.

Becky Berube serves the recycling community as President of United Catalyst Corporation. She writes a monthly educational column for

the industry, serves as co-chair of the ARA Annual Convention Educational Programming Committee, is on the administrative team for the ARA Peer Mentoring Program, and is an Executive Committee member of the IPMI. She can be reached at (864) 834-2003 or by email at berube@unitedcatalystcorporation.com.

Automotive Recycling

March-April 2019 // 21