Zimbabwe unrest mixed news for palladium and platinum

(Dow Jones) News suggesting a regime change may be happening in Zimbabwe may boost platinum and palladium.

"If there were substantial civil unrest, at the margin that would be bullish for platinum and palladium," says Erik Norland, executive director and senior economist of CME Group.

However, he adds that "it could cut both ways," noting that he's "always perceived Zimbabwe as not particularly stable under Mr. [Robert] Mugabe, and not particularly well-run, especially having suffered its Weimar-like inflation.

Having the military take over may actually bring greater stability and increase mining in the long-term."

Zimbabwe is the world's No. 3 producer of platinum and fourth-largest palladium producer, data from Johnson Matthey show.