Palladium prices decline as dollar gains ground on US interest rate forecasts

Palladium prices fell on Friday as the dollar gained ground against most major rivals while markets assess latest statements by Fed Chair Jerome Powell.

At Jackson Hall, Jerome Powell said that cutting inflation requires more flexible labor markets, while bringing inflation back to 2% will require less growth than usual.

Lower US rents indicate inflation has fallen down in the US housing sector, and he noted the required and sustained work to control commodity inflation.

Powell said the Fed will continue to monitor prices closely, especially energy and food prices which are still high.

Powell asserted the Fed's commitment to tighten monetary policies to curb inflation, however he cautioned that too much policy tightening could be damaging to the economy.

Otherwise, the dollar index rose 0.2% as of 16:44 GMT to 104.2, with a session-high at 104.4, and a low at 103.7. 

Palladium futures due in December fell 1.1% to $1235.5 an ounce as of 16:45 GMT.