Palladium Falls to 9-Month Low on Credit Crunch; Platinum Drops

BY

Palladium dropped to a nine-month low in London on speculation a credit crunch is prompting
investors to sell the metal used in cars and jewelry. Platinum also declined.

Palladium has fallen for seven days, the longest selloff since December 2004. Hedge funds and
other large speculators have reduced their ``net-long'' positions, or bets on higher New York
palladium futures, to the lowest since April, figures from the U.S. government show.

``There could be a need to raise cash so palladium has gotten hammered as a consequence,''
said Peter Ryan, a senior consultant at London-based research company GFMS Ltd. ``Not many weeks ago these investor positions were at record levels.''

Palladium for immediate delivery dropped $1, or 0.3 percent, to $321.75 an ounce as of 12:20 p.m. in London, after earlier today trading at $315.75, the lowest since Nov. 17.

Platinum fell $2.50, or 0.2 percent, to $1,239 an ounce.

Palladium inventories are probably more than one year of global supply, while platinum stockpiles represent about three months of production, Ryan estimated. Palladium has dropped 3.7
percent this year while platinum is up 9 percent.

JKL

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