Palladium declines as dollar muscles up amid global inflation concerns

Palladium prices fell on Friday as the dollar gained ground against most major rivals and amid growing concerns about inflationary pressures worldwide.

Such decline came as global oil prices rose worldwide, triggering inflation concerns in the US and Europe.

Earlier this week, the Federal Reserve voted to hold interest rates flat at 5.5%, while hinting strongly at another interest rate hike later this year.

Similarly, Bank of England decided to hold interest rates steady after recent data showed inflation has slowed down. 

The BOE held interest rates at 5.25% after a series of 14 consecutive interest rate hikes. 

However as inflation threatens to make a comeback, central banks could very well resume their policy tightening, in turn hurting high-risk assets.

Palladium is used extensively in the automotive industry, which is facing heavy strikes in the US, hurting demand. 

Otherwise, the dollar index rose 0.1% as of 16:59 GMT to 105.4, with a session-high at 105.7, and a low at 105.3. 

On trading, palladium futures due in December fell 1.2% to $1254 an ounce as of 17:00 GMT.