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Z5071 – PA Term Structure Continuous

Palladium (NYMEX) term structure summarises current-vs-deferred supply/demand. Structural carry that persists out to M1-M12 indicates persistent oversupply or rate-rise expectations; uniform backwarda

At a glance

IN-SEASON · ACTIVE

Current reading

-0.296

PA Term Structure Continuous composite, tanh-bounded

Signal state

Mild Contango

1 trading days in current state

Phase

STRESS

Positive equals contango regime; negative equals backwardation regime

Sample

36 years

Live since 1990-12

 

As of Nov 04, 2026. Updated nightly.

SIGNAL OVERVIEW

Palladium (NYMEX) term structure summarises current-vs-deferred supply/demand. Structural carry that persists out to M1-M12 indicates persistent oversupply or rate-rise expectations; uniform backwardation indicates tightness propagating through the curve. The composite is bounded between minus one and plus one through. Across 36 years Phase +1 contango regime state has returned on average plus 3.11 percent forward 60-day palladium return. Phase -1 backwardation regime state has returned on average minus 1.17 percent. Today the composite reads , in territory.

LIVE CHART

PA Term Structure Continuous: composite bounded minus one to plus one.

The dark line in the top panel is the composite bounded between minus one and plus one. The pale red band marks backwardation regime regime. The pale green band marks contango regime regime. The bronze line in the middle panel is the trailing 252-day rolling Spearman information coefficient. The lower panel is NYMEX palladium continuous back-adjusted price on the right axis in cents per ounce.

Extreme backwardation regime band Extreme contango regime band

COMPOSITE

-0.296 / tanh

STATE

(nightly)

PHASE

(nightly)

FWD 60d

(nightly, baseline +1.40 percent)

SAMPLE N

9,020 days

TODAY'S PLAYBOOK READING

STATE

Mild Contango

STATE AND HISTORY

. Sample N=9,020 days since 1990-12.

WHY THE SIGNAL IS HERE

Palladium (NYMEX) term structure summarises current-vs-deferred supply/demand. Structural carry that persists out to M1-M12 indicates persistent oversupply or rate-rise expectations; uniform backwardation indicates tightness propagating through the curve.

POSTURE FOR THE WEEKS AHEAD

The signal is a regime detector on a 60-day forward horizon. Pair with price momentum signals for conviction.

WHAT THE CHART SHOWS

Today the composite reads -0.296 placing the dot inside the Mild Contango band.

TOP INPUTS FIRING

  • Silver returns Primary silver price momentum.
  • 10-year TIPS-implied inflation breakeven Market-implied inflation expectation.
  • Rolling coherence trend 5-year first-difference of coherence at 170-day cycles.

THE REGIME MAP

The three regime phases, forward 60-day palladium returns and sample share

Baseline palladium forward 60 day return (unconditional): mean plus 1.40 percent, median plus 1.11 percent, across 8,960 trading days.

State Phase Share Fwd 60d HAC t Edge vs baseline Last firings
Contango regime +1 27.6% (2488 d) +3.11% +1.72pp Mar 2022, Aug 2020, Jul 2020
Normal 0 42.6% (3847 d) +2.03% +0.64pp Oct 2026, Aug 2025, May 2025
Backwardation regime TODAY -1 29.8% (2685 d) -1.16% -2.56pp Nov 2026, Aug 2025, May 2025

The historical pattern

How to use the signal today

Contango regime
1998-05
Composite series maximum
On 1998-05-14 the composite reached its series maximum plus 1.000. Palladium subsequent 60-day behavior aligned with the contango regime regime pattern.
Composite +1.000 on 1998-05-14
Backwardation regime
1998-05
Composite series minimum
On 1998-05-26 the composite reached its series minimum minus 1.000. Palladium subsequent 60-day behavior aligned with the backwardation regime regime pattern.
Composite -1.000 on 1998-05-26
Normal
2020-03
COVID shock regime
The March 2020 COVID liquidity shock drove violent regime shifts across palladium drivers.
Multi-phase regime across COVID window

THE TRACK RECORD

State changes

State Start End Duration Fwd 60d SPY
Normal 10/28/2024 11/05/2024 7d +3.19%
Extreme Pos (silver Compressed) 11/06/2024 11/06/2024 1d +2.23%
Normal 11/07/2024 11/07/2024 1d +1.80%
Extreme Pos (silver Compressed) 11/08/2024 11/11/2024 2d +0.43%
Normal 11/12/2024 11/20/2024 7d +1.41%
Extreme Pos (silver Compressed) 11/21/2024 12/02/2024 7d +1.06%
Normal 12/03/2024 12/11/2024 7d -4.48%
Extreme Pos (silver Compressed) 12/12/2024 09/24/2025 196d -8.76%
Normal 09/25/2025 10/09/2025 11d +3.24%
Extreme Pos (silver Compressed) 10/10/2025 10/10/2025 1d +5.60%
Normal 10/13/2025 10/17/2025 5d +3.99%
Extreme Pos (silver Compressed) 10/20/2025 10/27/2025 6d +3.12%
Normal 10/28/2025 11/11/2025 11d +0.83%
Extreme Neg (silver Outperforming) 11/12/2025 11/13/2025 2d +1.28%
Normal 11/14/2025 11/17/2025 2d +1.39%
Extreme Neg (silver Outperforming) 11/18/2025 11/20/2025 3d +3.45%
Normal 11/21/2025 11/25/2025 3d +4.61%
Extreme Neg (silver Outperforming) 11/26/2025 10/26/2026 229d +1.98%

Scroll inside the table for the full history. Forward 60-day SPY is measured from each run’s start date; a reader cannot trade off a start-date they only identify in hindsight, so this is a transparency log, not an alpha claim. Asterisked (*) returns are partial. The run is less than 60 trading days old. The full 60-day comparable fills in as more data arrives.

What this measures

Palladium (NYMEX) term structure summarises current-vs-deferred supply/demand. Structural carry that persists out to M1-M12 indicates persistent oversupply or rate-rise expectations; uniform backwardation indicates tightness propagating through the curve. The composite is z-scored against a and bounded through.

Why it matters

Palladium (NYMEX) term structure summarises current-vs-deferred supply/demand. Structural carry that persists out to M1-M12 indicates persistent oversupply or rate-rise expectations; uniform backwardation indicates tightness propagating through the curve.

The signal flags the current palladium regime for the next 60 trading days on average. Pair with price-based signals for precise entry.

State-conditional spreads are empirical averages across 36 years. Individual regime windows can run longer or shorter than mean sample.

GO DEEPER

Want the full depth?

Brief covers wavelet-coherence methodology, three signature episodes (2009-02 QE recoupling series max, 2015-06 decoupling series min, 2020 COVID), and four caveats on reading a cross-asset coherence signal.

Signal consumers and siblings

Not investment advice · The analysis on this page is informational and educational. Signal readings, historical case figures, and empirical statistics are derived from publicly available data and are provided without warranty. Hypothetical performance results have inherent limitations, including the benefit of hindsight. Readers who intend to trade should consult a licensed investment professional and see the research brief for the full disclaimer.

Last refreshed Nov 06, 2026 08:40 PM ET