Rhodium

The rarest traded platinum group metal, essential in catalytic converters and violently volatile.

Overview

Under 30 tonnes a year come to market, almost entirely as a byproduct of platinum and palladium mining, so no producer chases the price and it settles in thin physical markets. Demand is dominated by gasoline autocatalysts, where no cheaper material matches its performance at strict emissions limits, plus glass melting equipment and chemical processes. Prices ran from under 1,000 dollars an ounce in 2016 to near 30,000 in 2021 as rules tightened after the diesel scandal, then fell by three quarters as auto output normalized and substitution began. Trading happens in small lots over the counter rather than liquid futures, and 20 percent monthly moves come with the territory of a byproduct with inelastic supply.