Palladium Price in 1972
In 1972, the price of palladium averaged $42 per troy ounce, up 13.5% from the year before. This page covers the 1972 average, high, low, and year-end close, the events that moved the market, and what that palladium would be worth in today's dollars.
1972 Average
$42
Annual average, USD/oz
Change vs 1971
+13.5%
from $37 in 1971
What happened to the palladium price in 1972
Palladium averaged $42 per troy ounce in 1972, up 13.5% from $37 the year before.
In the 1970s palladium was still a minor precious metal used mainly in electronics and dentistry. It rode the decade's commodity booms and the 1979-80 precious-metals mania, but its defining demand driver, the automotive catalytic converter, was only just emerging.
Adjusted for inflation, palladium's 1972 average of $42 equals about $324 in today's dollars. The conversion uses US Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U annual averages, so treat it as a close approximation rather than an exact figure.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was the price of palladium in 1972?
What is a 1972 palladium price worth in today's dollars?
Annual averages are USGS/Engelhard producer prices (1970 to 1988) and LBMA palladium prices (1989 to 2025) per troy ounce in US dollars. Where daily data exists, the per-year high, low, and close come from MetalCharts historical data. Inflation adjustments use BLS CPI-U annual averages.