Palladium falls 5% as dollar hits eight-week high

Palladium prices slid 4% in American trade away from February 27 highs for the third session, as the dollar index hit March 2 highs following earlier US housing data. 

As of 01:30 GMT, palladium fell 4.68% to $982.05 an ounce from the opening of $1,030.28, marking April 13 lows, while the dollar index rose 0.38% to 90.66 from the opening of 90.32. 

Earlier US data showed existing home sales rose 1.1% in March to an annualized 5.60 million units, compared to a 3% rise in February to 5.54 million, beating expectations of a 0.2% rise to 5.55 million units.