Palladium pulls back off record highs

Palladium prices fell on Thursday, to give up the record highs that were hit earlier this week.

Palladium fell under pressure from profit-taking from the strong gains reached by the industrial metal earlier.

The metal seized its place among precious metals, such as gold and platinum, due to its price jumps and sharp demand from industries, most notably automakers.

Palladium is drawing strong support from increased demand by automakers, as it is used in the manufacturing of care parts that reduce carbon dioxide emissions, which is a currently became an important standard in many countries seeking to combat climate change.

The global market is also facing supply shortages, due to the nature of mining operations of the metal as it's extracted as a secondary product from operations focused on platinum.

Palladium March futures fell by 0.7% to $2330 an ounce as of 15:07 GMT, after hitting a session-high of $2427 and a low of $2308.