Palladium fell to its lowest level in a year on October 2 as a stronger dollar and rising Treasury yields weighed on precious metals broadly. Elsewhere, Impala Platinum's chief executive addressed consolidation speculation in the sector, Platinum Group Metals reported fresh results for a platinum-palladium battery chemistry, and Greenland Mines closed out its 2026 field program at the palladium-platinum-gold Skaergaard project.
Top stories#
Palladium hits one-year low near $1,170/oz#
Palladium futures touched a one-year low of about $1,170 an ounce on October 2, as a stronger US dollar and elevated Treasury yields weighed on the market while investors awaited US payrolls data, InstaForex reported. The US dollar climbed to a 17-month high and the 10-year Treasury yield rose to its highest level since 2002, which raises the effective cost of dollar-priced metals for overseas buyers. Kitco's spot quote, retrieved October 2, showed palladium at $1,170.00/oz, up 0.52% on the day. InstaForex also pointed to softer automotive demand and a shift toward a market surplus as gasoline-vehicle production declines and recycling rises as longer-term drags on the price, while noting lower mine output, particularly from Russia, may limit further declines even though higher recycling volumes could offset part of that shortfall. The metal is down 28.4% year to date, InstaForex said. The decline follows a September 25 note from TD Commodity Strategy projecting that rhodium prices are poised to fall as weakening autocatalyst demand pushes that market into surplus next year, though thin inventories leave it vulnerable to sharp supply-driven rallies, with TD forecasting a 20,000-ounce rhodium surplus in 2027, the market's first since 2022, a sign that auto-linked PGMs broadly are being repriced as gasoline-vehicle output softens. Live quotes: palladium price and palladium futures.
Implats CEO pledges capital discipline amid PGM consolidation talk#
Impala Platinum CEO Nico Muller told shareholders in his annual letter that the group's balance sheet lets it fund operations and pursue growth, but stressed discipline, Business Day reported October 2. Muller said the group would "evaluate selective growth opportunities and potential partnerships where these offer compelling returns and create sustainable shareholder value," with decisions weighed against "strategic fit, risk, project readiness, expected returns, balance-sheet capacity, and their ability to compete for capital." He added Implats "will not pursue growth for its own sake" and would preserve financial flexibility to "succeed through the cycle." Business Day published the remarks under a headline citing ongoing PGM consolidation talk in the sector. Implats is valued at R178bn on the JSE and holds attributable PGM resources of 308.7 million ounces. Background: Impala Platinum, Sibanye-Stillwater.
PGM-backed Lion Battery clears independent testing, funds pilot phase#
Platinum Group Metals Ltd. (TSX: PTM, NYSE American: PLG) said October 1 that independent testing by the Battery Innovation Center had validated prototype lithium-sulfur cells built around its majority-owned Lion Battery Technologies subsidiary's platinum- and palladium-based electrodes, Shanghai Metals Market reported. The prototype cells outperformed catalyst-free versions on capacity and rate capability, with palladium-rich formulations testing best, and Lion's two owners, Platinum Group (52%) and Valterra Platinum (48%), have approved funding for the next phase. SMM cautioned that the milestone is still a prototype-stage result opening a possible new application for PGMs beyond autocatalysts, with commercial viability and any meaningful PGM demand still unproven. A Newsfile release the same day said Lion's next step is building and testing pouch cells for high-energy uses such as drones. SMM noted the project also touches southern African supply chains, since Valterra mines PGMs in South Africa and Zimbabwe while Platinum Group is developing South Africa's Waterberg project. Background: platinum, palladium.
Greenland Mines wraps 2026 field program at palladium-platinum-gold Skaergaard#
Greenland Mines (Nasdaq: GRML; FSE: HK6) said Thursday, October 1, that it had completed this year's field season at the Skaergaard project in southeast Greenland. The work generated the data needed to move the project from resource definition into flowsheet design, mine and infrastructure planning, environmental studies and an Initial Assessment, the company's term for an S-K 1300 preliminary economic assessment. The season included 4,480 meters of diamond drilling, yielding the first large-diameter HQ core recovered at Skaergaard for metallurgical test work, and the extraction of more than 105 tons of bulk material from mapped and sampled gold and palladium-platinum zones, far exceeding the roughly 800-kilogram mini-bulk samples taken historically. The company is also assessing possible vanadium-bearing titanomagnetite, iron and gallium by-products alongside the project's core palladium-platinum-gold output, though no economic value has yet been assigned to those potential streams. An updated technical report in July had already increased the project's contained palladium-equivalent resource. Skaergaard remains an early-stage project, not a near-term PGM supply source. Background: palladium.
Prices and market context#
Kitco's spot quote, retrieved October 2 at 07:17 UTC, showed platinum at $1,725.00/oz, up 0.64% on the day, and palladium at $1,170.00/oz, up 0.52% after touching its one-year low overnight, per InstaForex. Rhodium was quoted at $8,400.00/oz on Kitco the same day. Both remain well below platinum's all-time high of $2,923/oz, set January 26, 2026, per the World Platinum Investment Council (WPIC).
Platinum's own outlook has swung: the WPIC's Platinum Quarterly for Q2 2026, published September 9, revised its 2026 forecast to a 265,000-ounce surplus from a 297,000-ounce deficit projected in May, while lifting its 2025 deficit estimate above 1 million ounces. Palladium's slide and TD Commodity Strategy's September 25 rhodium surplus call both point to the same theme: auto-linked PGMs repricing lower as gasoline-vehicle demand and recycling supply both work against them. Track live levels: platinum price, palladium price, rhodium price, platinum price history.
What to watch#
- October 6, 2026: Sibanye-Stillwater's secondary listing begins trading on the A2X exchange in Johannesburg, alongside its JSE primary listing and New York Stock Exchange depositary shares.
- Ongoing: United Steelworkers strike action continues at Sibanye-Stillwater's Stillwater East mine and Columbus metallurgical complex in Montana, despite a new wage agreement ratified at the nearby East Boulder mine covering August 2026 through July 2029.
- This week: US non-farm payrolls data is being watched by precious metals traders for signals on Federal Reserve policy after the dollar's advance to a 17-month high pressured platinum and palladium.
- Lion Battery Technologies' next development phase, following the October 1 funding approval from Platinum Group Metals and Valterra Platinum for pouch-cell prototype work.
Sources#
- Kitco, Precious Metals Prices: https://www.kitco.com/price/precious-metals
- InstaForex, "Palladium Slides to 1-Year Low": https://www.instaforex.com/forex-news/3204817
- Business Day, "Implats CEO pledges disciplined spending amid PGM consolidation talks": https://www.businessday.co.za/companies/2026-10-02-implats-ceo-vows-disciplined-spending-amid-pgm-consolidation-talks/
- Shanghai Metals Market, "PGMs: Independent tests advance platinum and palladium battery technology": https://news.metal.com/newscontent/104143498-pgms-independent-tests-advance-platinum-and-palladium-battery-technology
- Mining.com, "Greenland Mines makes gallium, vanadium discovery at Skaergaard": https://www.mining.com/greenland-mines-makes-gallium-vanadium-discovery-at-skaergaard/
- Mining.com, "TD sees rhodium surplus ending four-year squeeze": https://www.mining.com/td-sees-rhodium-surplus-ending-four-year-squeeze/
- Mining Weekly, "Sibanye confirms wage agreement for East Boulder workers, strikes continue at Stillwater East, Columbus continue": https://www.miningweekly.com/article/sibanye-confirms-wage-agreement-for-east-boulder-workers-strikes-continue-at-stillwater-east-columbus-continue-2026-09-30