Palladium hits five-month high as dollar plumbs seven-week low

Palladium prices rose 2% in American trade to April 23 highs, while the dollar index plumbed July 31, following earlier housing data from the US.

As of 01:40 GMT, palladium rose 1.70% to $1,030.09 an ounce, marking five-month highs, as the dollar index declined 0.07% to 94.58, plumbing seven-week lows. 

Earlier US data showed housing starts surged 9.2% to an annualized 1.282 million units in August, compared to a 0.3% dip in July to 1.174 million, beating estimates of a 5.7% increase. 

Conversely, building permits fell 5.7% last month to 1.229 million, compared to a 0.9% increase in July to 1.303 million, while analysts expected a 0.5% increase to 1.310 million, as the current account deficit shrank to $101 billion from $122 billion in the first quarter.