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Palladium jumps 8% near $2,000 mark, following South Africa's decision
Palladium futures rose on Wednesday, following South Africa's decision to halt several public activities due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The South African government announced a lockdown on citizens movements, business and corporate activities in all industries for three weeks, to prevent the coronavirus from spreading.
This ought to suspend palladium production in the world's largest produces, and eventually lead to a drop in global supply.
Analysts estimated that the decision would cause cut 2% on the global palladium supply.
The dollar index fell against a basket of currencies by 0.6% to trade at 101.4 points as of 13:33 GMT, after hitting a high of 101.9 and a low of 101.1.
Palladium June futures jumped 8% to trade at $1,928 an ounce as of 13:44 GMT, after hitting today's high at $1,941.9 and a low of $1,811.9.
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