PLATINUM STRUGGLING TO FLATTEN 'EM:

Palladium prices last week topped platinum for the first time since 2001, underscoring the diverging outlooks for the metals. Bloomberg reports that supplies are expected to tighten in palladium, owing to demand from petrol-fuelled vehicles and a snubbing of platinum in the wake of the VW diesel emission scandal in the US. Last week, an ounce of platinum would only buy 0.9901 ounces of palladium, the least in 16 years. The switch in demand pattern hurts the platinum-heavy poor southern hemisphere and enriches the palladium-heavy northern hemisphere. While holdings in palladium-backed exchange-traded funds are ascending to January’s highpoint, platinum futures are descending with the price difference expected to widen. Platinum is undervalued and there is too much heat in the palladium market,” Bloomberg quoted Commerzbank analyst Daniel Briesemann as saying.