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Emission scandal’s impact on platinum overdone
Platinum and Palladium Update – Emission scandal’s impact on platinum overdone
• Negative sentiment around platinum out of sync with the metal’s positive fundamentals
• Misconception about role of precious group metals (PGM) in nitrogen oxide (NOx) treatment unduly impacts the metals
• Capex reduction by miners to curb platinum supply
• Record US auto sales spur palladium prices higher
The Volkswagen emission scandal revealed on 18 September caused a sharp divergence in sentiment resulting in platinum’s premium over palladium falling to its lowest level in 13 years. Despite an improvement in the demand outlook for platinum from jewellery and investment, negative sentiment for platinum continues to weigh on its price.
Understanding the intricacies of the emissions
The software defeat device used in Volkswagen’s diesel engines cheated on the results of NOx testing, violating the US clean air act. Versions of the Volkswagen’s diesel engines fitted with the Lean NOx trap (LNT) and urea based selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system emitted up to 35 and 20 times the EPAs required limit respectively. The global rollout of stringent regulations are emphasizing NOx reduction in emissions from diesel engines, demanding higher amounts of ammonia and thus increasing the risk of ammonia slippage into the environment. In contrast to the gasoline engine, diesel engines while coping with hydrocarbons (HC) and carbon monoxide (CO) easily, struggle with NOx. A key technological solution is a highly selective ammonia slip catalyst in the final stage of the after-treatment system. The figure below depicts the treatment of the HC, CO, NOx and particulate matter (PM) at different stages of the emission cycle using the SCR system.
HC and CO are oxidised via a PGM based diesel oxidation catalyst while the particulate matter are captured by the catalyzed soot filter, leaving only NOx to be treated. Recent models fitted with the SCR system require a top off of a urea solution on gases exiting the diesel oxidation catalyst. The software on Volkswagen cars sensed when the test mode was active and released urea into the emission gas to neutralize harmful nitrogen dioxide emissions.
No fundamental impact on platinum
Despite having no role to play in the final stage of the after treatment of NOx emissions platinum suffered the brunt of the scandal. It’s worth noting that a recall of cars by Volkswagen will also have no direct bearing on the demand for platinum, since the NOx after-treatment is not impacted by the PGM based oxidation catalyst used for HC and CO. Despite being known to derive 44% of its use in autocatalysts for both diesel and gasoline cars, fears of a consumer shift in preference for gasoline vs diesel cars have weighed on the demand outlook for platinum. While the case for fuel efficiency remains strong for diesel engines it’s hard to determine how long Volkswagen’s deception will curtail demand. The trend of rising European auto sales is diverging from the downward trajectory of platinum prices.
Gold:Platinum ratio at 19 year high
Plunging platinum prices have led a sharp rally in the gold to platinum ratio and could help switch investor preference for cheaper platinum jewellery. The onset of the festival season in India coupled with rising platinum imports from China (up 16% year on year) bodes well for Q4 demand outlook.
While platinum backed exchange traded fund holdings increased 4% from January to August this year, the past month holdings have pared back to 2% illustrating investor’s reaction to the news.
Supply
On the supply side, improvement in operational and safety performance helped South African platinum mine production rise 21% quarter on quarter in Q2 as reported by the World Platinum Investment Council (WPIC). Scrap supply declined in the second quarter by 5% as falling prices reduced auto catalyst collection rates. Despite a 9% rise in predicted total supply, WPIC have revised the 2015 forecast for the platinum market deficit to 445koz from 190koz in their latest Q2 update on the back of higher investment demand.
Capex reductions as miners struggle to survive
Rising costs of production amidst falling prices have forced the world’s largest miners of platinum to slash jobs and idle mines in an attempt to reduce capex. Lonmin, the world’s third largest platinum producer will cut annual platinum production by 100k ounces putting 6000 jobs at risk. While Anglo American platinum sold its three platinum mines in Rustenburg to Sibanye Gold. And its parent Anglo American plans to cut a third of the global workforce over the next few years. The closure of the Eland platinum mine in South Africa that produced 35k ounces of platinum in the first quarter has been confirmed by Glencore. Zimbabwe home to the largest platinum reserves after South Africa has asked miners to reduce power usage by 25% amid a water shortage that’s cut hydropower supply.
We believe platinum prices have been unduly impacted by the emissions scandal and weakness in platinum prices will continue in the short term as negative sentiment pervades fundamentals. However rising auto sales in US and Europe, the onset of the festival season in India and China and moderate speculative investment appetite against the backdrop of cuts in production bodes well for platinum’s long term demand outlook.
Palladium: Fuelling up on diesel woes
Palladium known for generating 70% of its use in gasoline auto catalysts, surged to a 3month high $712. Fears of a shift in investor preference to gasoline powered engines coupled with the best US auto sales in more than a decade improved the demand outlook for palladium.
In addition President Li Keqiang’s announcement on 22 September to accelerate construction of electric-car charging facilities in China boosted palladium prices. While in reality palladium has no role to play in electric cars, the government’s commitment to clean energy was bolstered, aiding the pollution abating metal.
The rise in Chinese palladium imports of 14% in August closely tracked by rising auto sales of 12% created a favorable environment for palladium’s demand.
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The impact of US tariffs continues to dominate market sentiment and risk assets, including crypto, struggled with this uncertainty throughout the month. The Nasdaq Crypto Index™ (NCI™) fell 4.46% in March as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 dropped 5.63% and 7.61%, respectively.
Despite the macro uncertainty from Washington, US policymakers are continuing to embrace crypto in an unprecedented way, including launching a Bitcoin Strategic Reserve, Digital Asset Stockpile, and engaging in expansive work at the regulatory agencies and in Congress.
Our team spent the last week of the month in Washington, meeting with regulators to share our experiences and views on what’s most important for crypto investors in the US. In his latest Notes from the CIO, Samir Kerbage shares what he learned from these meetings and how investors should be thinking about the new regulatory regime in the US.
As always, we are greatly appreciative of your trust in us and are here to answer any questions you may have.
-Your Partners at Hashdex
Market Review
March was marked by the tariff dispute triggered by the Trump administration. Back-and-forth fiscal policies, threats, and retaliations dominated the month’s agenda. The uncertain macroeconomic environment put investors into a defensive stance and negatively impacted crypto assets. The Nasdaq Crypto Index™ (NCI™) closed the month down -4.46% after a period of high volatility. Major market indices, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100, also recorded steep declines of -5.63% and -7.61%, respectively. These concurrent drawdowns across equities and crypto underscored March’s broad market caution, as trade war uncertainty prompted investors to flee risk assets.
During times of uncertainty, it is common to observe increased correlation among different classes of risk assets. This pattern played out in March: the 6-month rolling correlation of monthly returns between the NCI™ and the Nasdaq-100 surged to roughly 0.91 (see chart below), its highest level since 2021, indicating that crypto assets were moving almost in lockstep with tech stocks. This spike in correlation confirms that crypto was behaving like a high-beta extension of the tech sector—an amplified version of the Nasdaq-100. The lack of clarity in the global landscape leads investors to reduce their risk exposure and seek protection, a movement known in financial markets as “risk-off” allocation.
6-Month Rolling Correlation of Monthly Returns between the Nasdaq Crypto Index and Nasdaq-100 (Apr 2021–Apr 2025).
The chart illustrates how this correlation has been increasing since the American elections in November 2024 and spiked to approximately 0.91 in the most recent period—a multi-year high. This visual evidence reinforces the view that crypto assets have been moving closely in tandem with tech stocks, effectively acting as a high-beta version of the Nasdaq-100 during the March risk-off phase.
Following this trend, risk reduction was evident within the crypto asset class. Among the NCI’s constituents, Bitcoin (BTC) posted a decline of -1.93%, withstanding the downturn far better than other constituents such as Ether (ETH, -17.4%) and Litecoin (LTC, -34.6%). BTC’s relatively mild drop in this sell-off aligns with the idea that it increasingly trades like a high-beta proxy for large-cap tech. It still declined, but less severely, whereas smaller-cap crypto assets behaved more like speculative growth stocks and suffered outsized losses. The only exception to the negative results was Cardano (ADA), which surprised with a positive return of 3.88% despite no significant protocol developments during the month.
Thematic indices also faced a challenging environment. As highlighted in previous letters, smaller capitalization assets tend to suffer more during periods of market stress, mirroring how speculative small-cap stocks are hit hardest in equity sell-offs. The biggest negative highlight was the Digital Culture Index, which dropped -17.45%, followed by the Decentralized Finance (DeFi) and Smart Contract Platform (Web3) indices, which fell -16.73% and -12.07%, respectively. The Vinter Hashdex Risk Parity Momentum Index recorded a negative result of -8.26% but outperformed the three other thematic indices, benefiting from its high allocation in BTC and TRX (which gained 4.68%). The heavy weighting in BTC – the more resilient large-cap crypto – helped cushion this index, underscoring the relevance of the momentum factor in a well-diversified strategy during times of market stress.
The market remains on the lookout for the outcome of the fiscal policy discussions, hoping for a reduction in uncertainties and an end to the tariff war. That would likely mark the moment when investors regain their appetite for risk assets, including crypto assets. The U.S. government has also signaled interest in advancing the crypto agenda, a development that could drive the asset class to a new level of adoption. We remain confident in our positive outlook for the rest of the year and the long term.
Top Stories
US creates Bitcoin Strategic Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
The Bitcoin Reserve will be capitalized with BTC owned by the Department of Treasury, which could further increase via new budget-neutral acquisitions. The stockpile will also include assets owned by the Treasury. This marks a major milestone, with the US government starting to integrate major crypto assets and continues the new administration’s work to lead the global crypto economy.
Stablecoins surpass $230 billion in market value
The total stablecoins market capitalization surpassed $230 billion amid institutional demand for dollar-backed digital assets. This showcases one of the most successful applications for crypto technology enhancing traditional financial payments. It could also pave the way for new use cases that require a strong and reliable global payment system.
FDIC eases banks’ ability to engage in crypto activities
The FDIC has rescinded previous guidelines which prevented financial institutions from engaging with crypto activities without prior sign-off. By removing bureaucratic hurdles, banks may more readily over crypto-related services, potentially leading to broader adoption and integration of digital assets into the financial system.
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