Stricter rules on car emissions have helped drive a dramatic rally in rhodium, a niche metal used in catalytic converters, in the latest sign of how the environmental agenda is reshaping commodity markets.
Car companies in Europe and China are using ever more rhodium to meet tougher clean-air legislation, at the same time as supply from South Africa, the biggest producer, has been disrupted by the spread of Covid-19.
Assisted by the economic recovery in China, the world’s largest car market, benchmark prices for rhodium have hit a record of $17,790 an ounce, up more than 200 per cent since their March 2020 low. That means one kilogramme of rhodium is worth almost half a million pounds.