Palladium climbs above $1,500 on hopes for improving Chinese demand

Palladium prices rose on Friday as the dollar index rose against most major rivals as markets assess economic data. 

Inflation

US core personal spending rose 4.6% in March, slowing down from 4.7%. 

The Federal Reserve will hold its periodic policy meeting next week to decide on policies, and it's expected to raise interest rates by 25 basis points. 

Corporate Results 

Corporations on Wall Street continue to report quarterly results in the first quarter of 2023. 

Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Intel, and Tesla all reported quarterly results, beating expectations. 

Chinese Demand

Hopes remain that China will recover strongly after easing Covid 19 restrictions recently to boost growth and performance. 

China is the world's largest metals consumer, thus demand on industrial metals such as palladium is expected to rebound. 

Palladium is used extensively in electronics and automotive industries to reduce exhaust fumes.

Otherwise, the dollar index rose 0.1% to 101.5 as of 16:14 GMT, with a session-high at 102.1, and a low at 101.4. 

Palladium futures due in June rose 1.6% as of 16:15 GMT to $1,517 an ounce.