Palladium Price in 1974

In 1974, the price of palladium averaged $133 per troy ounce, up 70.5% from the year before. This page covers the 1974 average, high, low, and year-end close, the events that moved the market, and what that palladium would be worth in today's dollars.

1974 Average

$133

Annual average, USD/oz

Change vs 1973

+70.5%

from $78 in 1973

What happened to the palladium price in 1974

Palladium averaged $133 per troy ounce in 1974, surging 70.5% from the $78 average of 1973. Annual moves of that size are rare and put 1974 among the most explosive years in the metal's modern history. The defining story of 1974: Oil-crisis-era PGM/commodity spike; first major peak.

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 1974 average of $133 equals about $869 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 1974?

Palladium averaged $133 per troy ounce in 1974, based on LBMA and USGS annual average data. That average was up 70.5% from $78 in 1973.

What is a 1974 palladium price worth in today's dollars?

Adjusted with the US Consumer Price Index, palladium's 1974 average of $133 works out to roughly $869 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 1974?

The defining story of 1974: Oil-crisis-era PGM/commodity spike; first major peak. Against that backdrop, the annual average climbed 70.5%, from $78 in 1973 to $133.

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.