From: Richard M. Koolish (koolish@bbn.com)
Date: 05/19/00-02:25:24 PM Z
http://dailynews.netscape.com/news/Business/05_19_2000.robtz1101-story-bcbusinessgmpalladium.html
GM to Cut Back Palladium Use 30 Percent
DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Corp. (GM.N), the world's No. 1 automaker,
expects to cut its use of palladium by 30 percent by 2002 because of
instability in supplies and prices of the precious metal, a company executive
said on Friday.
GM will replace palladium, used in catalytic converters to cut down vehicle
pollutants, through a combination of improved technology and increased platinum
use, said David Andres, GM's purchasing director.
``I can see platinum coming up about 10 percent from where it is,'' he said in
an interview.
In physical bullion markets, palladium fetched about $575 an ounce Friday
morning. Platinum cost about $537 on Friday, after a sharp rally Thursday.
Automakers last year used about 5.9 million ounces of palladium, about 63
percent of all the metal purchased in 1999. A substantial amount was
accumulated in inventories, according to precious metals refiner Johnson
Matthey.
Russia produced about two-thirds of the world's 8.06 million ounce palladium
supply. But it has starved the market of exports for months because of delays
in issuing annual export quotas, driving prices to record levels over $800 an
ounce in February.
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