Prices for the precious metal palladium have hit a 16-year high at just under $900 per troy ounce , up 90% from January 2016 . Low oil prices have seen a surge in demand for fossil-fuel vehicles in Russia and Russia . Platinum's fall Meanwhile, prices of platinum, another precious metal used mainly in catalytic converters for diesel engines, have continued to fall since 2015. While the UK and Switzerland had large reserves of palladium, output from Russia , which produces almost half the world's supply, is expected to drop by 90% . International demand for palladium, a component of catalytic converters in cars, is predicted to exceed supply by 311 tons this year .
Prices for the precious metal palladium have hit a 16-year high at just under $900 per troy ounce , up 90% from January 2016 . Low oil prices have seen a surge in demand for fossil-fuel vehicles in Russia and Russia . While the UK and Switzerland had large reserves of palladium, output from Russia , which produces almost half the world's supply, is expected to drop by 90% . International demand for palladium, a component of catalytic converters in cars, is predicted to exceed supply by 311 tons this year .