Palladium prices rose nearly two percent in American trade to record highs, while the dollar traded mostly flat off October 18 lows, following earlier data from the US, while a government shutdown is in its fourth week.
As of 02:34 GMT, palladium rose 1.64% to $1,287.50 an ounce, marking record highs at $1,434.50, while the dollar index added 0.03% to 96.10, hovering near three-month lows.
Earlier US data showed unemployment claims fell 3 thousand to a total of 213 thousand in the week ending January 12, while continuing claims for the week ending January 5 rose 18K to 1.737 million.
The Philly Manufacturing Index rose to 17 from 9.4 in December, beating estimates of 9.7 easily.