Precious metals are one of the four major types of commodities that are traded in the market. Other types include natural gas, livestock and agricultural products. All traders know that success and good decision-making in gives one more chances of making successful trades despite its relative volatility.

If you are a beginner and you want to try your hand in the commodities market, particularly with precious metals, here are some relevant information that deals with the nature of precious metals  that can affect their costs and movements in the market.

One of the most popular precious metal in the market is gold. Because of its unique properties as a metal, it has become in demand around the world. Gold is resistant to rust and is also very durable. Gold can also conduct heat and electricity and can be made into different shapes and forms; thus its popularity as an industrial material and of course, as a jewelry. During the ancient period, gold is also used as a form of currency.

The price of gold is not usually affected by supply and demand, rather, it is controlled by gold holders. Because of the amount of gold that is present in the market, under the hands of hoarders, an increase or a decrease in the amount of newly mined gold will have very little effect on its price. Therefore, its price heavily relies on the movement of the hoarders.

One of the most widely used metal in making jewelries is gold

The next precious metal on the list is silver. Unlike gold, silver has more predominance in the industrial field and not in jewelry. Silver is used in photography, batteries and as a spare part for electrical appliances because of its ability to conduct electricity. However, because of the continuous movement in technology and science where new discoveries about the uses of silver are discovered, the price of silver has become more volatile as compared to gold. For example, since the advent of digital cameras, the demand for silver-based photographic film had been decreasing thus the decrease in the demand for silver.

New discoveries are continuously being made regarding the uses of silver

Another precious metal is platinum. Like silver, its price relies heavily on demand and supply. It is also one of the metals used in industries and unlike the previous two, platinum is much rarer and is less frequently mined. The past years, its price was determined by the demand on platinum by the automotive industry and by jewelry makers. Automotive makers increased the demand on platinum when laws that concern air emissions were put in place because they needed to install car parts that are made up of platinum to decrease emissions.