#Palladium, #Rhodium, #Platinum #PGM’s

LONDON (Reuters) - A rally in rhodium, a precious metal used to reduce vehicle emissions, has exploded into high gear, with surging demand and an uncertain supply outlook pushing prices up 40% in just three weeks to near record highs.

Rhodium RHOD-LON is used to neutralise nitrous oxides in car exhausts, and increasingly stringent emissions regulations, particularly in China, are forcing auto makers to use more of the metal.

Demand is expected to outstrip supply this year and supplies are being disrupted by power outages at South African mines which produce more than 80% of mined rhodium.

Prices have rocketed to $9,975 an ounce from $6,040 at the start of January - ten times their level through the mid-2010s and within a whisker of an all-time high of $10,050 in 2008.

"It's being driven by insatiable demand from Asia," said Scotiabank analyst Nicky Shiels.

"There is also a supply side trigger with power cuts in South Africa. That injects a certain amount of fear into the market and in a small, opaque market that can have a huge impact," she said.

(Graphic: Rhodium, palladium and platinum prices - here)