Palladium Price in 1973

In 1973, the price of palladium averaged $78 per troy ounce, up 85.7% from the year before. This page covers the 1973 average, high, low, and year-end close, the events that moved the market, and what that palladium would be worth in today's dollars.

1973 Average

$78

Annual average, USD/oz

Change vs 1972

+85.7%

from $42 in 1972

What happened to the palladium price in 1973

Palladium averaged $78 per troy ounce in 1973, surging 85.7% from the $42 average of 1972. Annual moves of that size are rare and put 1973 among the most explosive years in the metal's modern history. The defining story of 1973: 1970s commodity boom; price nearly doubles.

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 1973 average of $78 equals about $566 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 1973?

Palladium averaged $78 per troy ounce in 1973, based on LBMA and USGS annual average data. That average was up 85.7% from $42 in 1972.

What is a 1973 palladium price worth in today's dollars?

Adjusted with the US Consumer Price Index, palladium's 1973 average of $78 works out to roughly $566 in today's dollars, using 2025 as the CPI base year. The conversion uses BLS CPI-U annual averages, so treat it as a close approximation rather than an exact figure.

What moved the palladium price in 1973?

The defining story of 1973: 1970s commodity boom; price nearly doubles. Against that backdrop, the annual average climbed 85.7%, from $42 in 1972 to $78.

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.