The price for palladium reached an all time high of $1,603.00 per ounce on September 16th 2019 driven mainly on speculation of the catalytic converter demand from the automobile industry. Palladium is traded in the spot market with the code "XPD". When settled in USD, the code is "XPDUSD". A later surplus of the metal was caused by the Russian government selling stockpiles from the Soviet Era, at a rate of about 1.6 to 2 million ounces a year. The amount and status of this stockpile are a state secret.