Palladium regains footing amid optimism about Pfizer's vaccine

Palladium prices rose on Tuesday, thanks to renewed optimism about demand after the approval of Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine, while the US dollar held against most of its peers.

Commodities came under pressure recently, as many countries are facing a new wave of Covid-19 infections, which has forced most of them to re-impose lockdown restrictions.

This came after the mutated Delta variant emerged in some countries, which is characterized by its fast transition and an increased death rate.

Optimism increased in markets after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given full approval for the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine.

The dollar index held against a basket of major currencies at 92.9 points as of 13:54 GMT, after hitting a high of 93.08 points and a low of 92.8 points.

Palladium September futures rose 3.2% to $2,467 an ounce as of 13:55 GMT, and hit a high at $2,473.5 and a low at $2,390.5.