Palladium settles higher even as dollar climbs

Palladium prices tilted higher in American trade even as the dollar index gained ground, following earlier data from the US, the world's largest economy, and ahead of housing data and the Jackson Hole Symposium in Kansas City. 

As of 02:51 GMT, palladium rose 0.22% to $936.78 an ounce from the opening of $934.36, while the dollar index advanced 0.14% to 93.27 from the opening of 93.14. 

Earlier US data showed unemployment claims rose below expectations last week, while markets look forward to housing data for July, expected to show existing home sales rose 0.5% to 5.55 million, compared to a 1.8% drop in June to 5.52M. 

Otherwise, Standard Chartered recently projected a supply deficit of 563 thousand ounces in the palladium market this year, compared to a deficit of 459 thousand in 2016. 

The bank also expected more gains for palladium prices in the next 12 months to 2014 highs.