Precious Metals Quotes

“Of all the precious metals, gold is the most popular as an investment. Investors generally buy gold as a hedge or harbor against economic, political, or social fiat currency crises (including investment market declines, burgeoning national debt, currency failure, inflation, war and social unrest). The gold market is subject to speculation as are other markets, especially through the use of futures contracts and derivatives. The history of the gold standard, the role of gold reserves in central banking, gold's low correlation with other commodity prices, and its pricing in relation to fiat currencies during the Late-2000s financial crisis, suggest that gold behaves more like a currency than a commodity . . .” — GOLD AS AN INVESTMENT AT WIKIPEDIA

“Silver, like other precious metals, may be used as an investment. For more than four thousand years, silver has been regarded as a form of money and store of value. However, since the end of the silver standard, silver has lost its role as a popular legal tender in many developed countries such as the United States. In 2009, the main demand for silver was for industrial applications (40%), jewelry, bullion coins and exchange-traded products. Millions of ounces of Canadian silver maple leaf coins and American silver eagles are purchased as investments each year. The silver maple leaf is legal tender, at $5 per ounce, and there are many other silver coins with higher legal tender values. There are some Canadian silver $20 coins. Silver is legal tender in Utah, and can be used to pay all debts . . .” — SILVER AS AN INVESTMENT AT WIKIPEDIA

“. . . During periods of sustained economic stability and growth, the price of platinum tends to be as much as twice the price of gold, whereas during periods of economic uncertainty, the price of platinum tends to decrease due to reduced industrial demand, falling below the price of gold. Gold prices are more stable in slow economic times, as gold is considered a safe haven and gold demand is not driven by industrial uses. In the 18th century, platinum's rarity made King Louis XV of France declare it the only metal fit for a king . . .” — PLATINUM AT WIKIPEDIA

“Like other precious metals, palladium may be used as an investment. Palladium price peaked near US$1,100 per troy ounce in January 2001 (approximately US$1340 in 2009 dollars) driven mainly on speculation of the catalytic converter demand from the automobile industry. Palladium is traded in the spot market with the code XPD. When settled in USD, the code is XPDUSD. Recent years' palladium surplus condition was caused by the Russian government selling off government stockpiles built up during the Soviet Era, at a pace of about 1.6 to 2 million ounces a year. The amount and status of this stockpile is kept as a state secret . . .” — PALLADIUM AS AN INVESTMENT AT WIKIPEDIA