Metals are hard commodities that are mined or extracted. They can be further divided in precious metals like
Gold,
Silver and
Platinum and high-demand base metals like
Copper, Aluminium and Zinc. Precious metals tend to move together in price and their unit of trade is the troy ounce. Gold has a number of industrial applications, functions as a safe-haven for currency speculators in times of uncertainty and can be used as a hedge against inflation.
Base metals are essential to industrial processes and are traded in metric tons. They are a leading indicator signalling economic growth or weakness. The strong demand from China's infrastructure and construction sectors is the main driver of global base metal consumption. Production cuts or increases and fluctuations in global inventories further influence their price. Metals are mostly traded through futures contracts, to speculate on price movements. The most popular custom chat is the
Gold room where traders talk in real-time about where Gold is going.
