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The government, up to this moment, can not get determined with the quotes for the palladium export. Meanwhile, this metal can lose its liquidity, and prices will fall.

Further delays with export quotes for palladium can lead to the prohibition of the Exchange trade and will make it a non-liquid commodity. Such an opinion was said to Interfax Mr.Kotliar, the Chairman of the Board of Directors RJSC "Norilskiy Nickel".

The problem is that Bank of Russia and Gokhran still can not begin the supplies of this metal on to the foreign market because of the quotes absence. Since Russia traditionally exports about 70% of palladium, its absence on the market is quite noticeable - there is a constant deficit of this metal and the prices for it sky-rocket. This way, on tuesday the price again reached the record point and totaled 800 dollars per ounce that is to say from the beginning of the year palladium has become two-times expensive. At that the situation will hardly change in the nearest future.

Meanwhile, following the President's decree, export quotes for plationoids for the next year will be provided by the 1st of November of the current year. Thus, this decree is not being fulfilled by neither government nor the administration of the president. Curious is the fact, that the whole this situation does not care neither ones nor the others.

While the government of the countrty deals with a check up of all possible details, the unpredictability of its acts creates more panic on the world market of palladium, where the speculative purchase of metal is still in progress. Despite the fact that last year "Norilskiy Nickel" reaceived a 10-year quote for the palladium export, enterprise states that their supplies will not meet the demand for this metal on the world market.

According to experts, uncontrollable price growth at the Exchange threatens the liquidity of exchange palladium contracts. That is why, the Tokyo Exchange TOSOM has already declared about its intention to freeze the palladium trade with the delivery dates throughout all of the months, excluding February.

"Izvestia" wrote already about the fact that the price growth for palladium hit the world automomile producers in their pockets, taking into consideration that they use it for the production of catalysts. Hoping for Russian supplies most of brockers accepted palladium as a pledge at the beginning of the year, supposing that prices will go down by February. Now they have to buy it out at a higher price and that, obviously, causes the loss. Without doubt, if there is no change in the situation in the nearest future, than many participants of the palladium market will go bankrupt. There will be no point of talking about the Palladium Exchange Trade.

Today's government position is hard to be explained. It would be more logical to act the opposite way, all the more, Russia has a task to return, the lost for the last year, positions on the world market of platinoids. Because of the legislative inaccuracy, last year their was not any export of the palladium and the articles made of it. As a result, producers suffered the loss of about hundreds million dollars and lost its place on the market, and the budget as well as the non-budget funds lost about $300-400 million.

Yuri Kotliar, head of the Board of Directors said: "It is a bungling, but not the strategy!

-To suppose that Russia has a focused strategy in this matter, - is just a mistake. It should be considered as a bungling, when the state officials do not do their job. I understand that they did not have time for that and were concerned about the politics, most of them participated in elections. Now they are waiting for the President's elections. As a result, acts of Russian official played in favor of south-african producers. They have sold their metal stocks two-times expensive as they were expecting before. No matter what we do now, the 1st quarter of 2000 is left to South-African Republic.

Prices go up! It seems that "Norilskiy Nickel" should be happy. But it is impossible to forecast the policy in the conditions of the rush demand, so the mistakes are inevitable. Besides, the situation with palladium can not be seen without platinum and rhodium, because automobile catalysts include all three metals. Now prices have already gone up twice as as much as before, and everyone looks around. Rhodium price, by the way, increased by 4 times! 1 ton of rhodium costs $80 million, when the wold consumption is 15 tones. This is a market of billions and Russia can easily lose it. Since the problem with platinum and rhodium is not solved yet, "Norilskiy Nickel" keeps on stocking. We will not be able to pay taxes before we sell. And that is the hard hit in the budget. Actually, this situation demonstrates the real level of the state administration in general.

Maria IGNATOVA, Alexey SINITSKIY

Source: Izvestia