- Palladium prices dribble after refreshing all-time high, up for sixth consecutive day.
- Sour sentiment underpins haven flows, inflation woes also propel commodity prices.
- Chatters over a pause in the Russian invasion, human corridor recently tested the XPD/USD bulls.
Palladium (XPD/USD) prices seesaw around the record top of $3,063 heading into Monday’s European session. That said, the quote makes rounds to $3,055, up 2.54% intraday by the press time.
In doing so, the precious metal tracks gold prices to the north amid the rush to risk-safety, mainly favored by the Ukraine-Russia tension.
During the weekend, the Russian invasion of Ukraine cities halted the previously agreed evacuation of Kyiv’s civilians and raise concerns over the further fight as the West extended support to Ukraine. However, the latest headlines from Interfax, suggesting a halt in the Russian fire and restoration of the human corridor, seem to have probed the XPD/USD bulls of late.
Even so, fears surrounding the US ban of Russia’s oil and the resulting supply crunch, as well as upside pressure on inflation, keep commodity prices on the front foot.
It should be noted, however, that the increased odds of the Fed’s faster rate-hikes from March may test the commodity buyers due to the inverse relations with the US Dollar.
Against this backdrop, the S&P 500 Futures and Asia-Pacific shares see the red while the US 10-year Treasury yields pare early Asian session losses around 1.70% at the latest.
Moving on, news concerning Russia and Ukraine will be crucial for short-term Palladium moves while US Consumer Price Index (CPI) for February, up for publishing on Thursday will be crucial as well.
Technical analysis
Although overbought RSI challenges the XPD/USD pair’s further upside, tops marked during May 2021, surrounding $3,018, precedes the $3,000 threshold to test pullback moves.