Precious Metals
Gold, silver, platinum, and palladium — rare, durable metals with monetary history and industrial uses, traded as safe-haven assets and inflation hedges.
Precious metals are a commodity sub-sector encompassing gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. They share characteristics of scarcity, durability, and historically accepted monetary value. All four trade on futures exchanges (COMEX/NYMEX) and in physical bullion markets.
Gold and silver carry stronger safe-haven characteristics; platinum and palladium are more industrial (auto catalysts, hydrogen fuel cells) and trade more like base metals. The sector as a whole tends to outperform during dollar weakness, rising inflation expectations, and geopolitical stress.
Related Terms
Base Metals
Industrial metals — copper, aluminum, zinc, nickel, lead, tin — that trade primarily on the LME and are closely tied to global industrial output.
BeginnerGold
The premier precious metal and safe-haven asset, priced in $/troy oz on COMEX and driven by real interest rates, dollar strength, and risk sentiment.
BeginnerGold/Silver Ratio
The number of silver ounces required to buy one ounce of gold — a measure of relative precious metal valuation that traders use to rotate between the two.
IntermediateSafe-Haven Asset
An asset expected to retain or gain value during market turmoil — gold, US Treasuries, and the Swiss franc are the classic examples.
BeginnerSilver
A precious and industrial metal priced in $/troy oz on COMEX, with dual drivers: safe-haven demand and industrial demand (solar panels, electronics).
Intermediate