The present invention relates to a metal powder catalyst and its use in the selective catalytic hydrogenation of organic starting materials comprising a carbon-carbon triple bond. The powder catalyst comprises a metal alloy carrier, wherein the metal alloy comprises (i) 55 weight-% (wt-%)-80 wt-%, based on the total weight of the metal alloy, of Co, and (ii) 20 wt-%-40 wt-%, based on the total weight of the metal alloy, of Cr, and (iii) 2 wt-%-10 wt-%, based on the total weight of the metal alloy, of Mo, and wherein the said metal alloy is coated by a metal oxide layer and impregnated with Pd, and is characterized in that the metal oxide layer comprises CeO2.