How and Where to Perform Precious Metals Trading

Precious metals trading has always been one of the safest and reliable ways to create and store wealth. Gold and silver have always been among the most popular and highly-traded instruments. This is why trading precious metals is the #1 strategy for a bigger number of investors seeking longer-term opportunities.

Today, users can select from different techniques and ways of trading precious metals. In this article we will discuss how and where to purchase and sell yellow metal as well as other baseline commodity trading factors.

Ways to Invest in Precious Metals

As stated earlier, there are several ways to trade commodities. With the evolution of platforms and websites offering flexible tools to invest on the fly, online precious metals trading has become extremely important to oppose typical and brick-to-mortar approaches. Nevertheless, some users still prefer traditional tactics that involve:

Investing in Precious Metals Bars. Many experts use metal bars as the best way to store and owe their wealth physically. The same can be applied to silver and other precious metals. What’s more, jewellery can be even a more liquid asset in some cases, as it is quite easier to sell. As for the bars, they are available in a variety of sizes depending on the weight you’d like to purchase. London hosts one of the biggest gold bar markets organised across the globe. Here you can purchase bars ranging from 100 ounce to 1 kg and 5 tael. These seizes mainly refer to gold bars while palladium and platinum are sold in 1-6-kg bars.

1. Taking Ownership. It is the same as direct investment. In other words, you express the desire to buy, for example, gold on an allocated basis with the assistance of the intermediary bank. Although a buyer does not physically own the metal, he or she can keep it on his or her account while the bank or another financial organisation retains the physical control over the instrument. In some cases, it is possible to perform precious metals trading on the over-the-counter basis that usually takes place in private. Another way to purchase the asset is to use centralised spot markets, for example, the Shanghai Gold Exchange.
2. Investing in Coins. This type of precious metals trading works the same way as the one with purchasing bars. All you need to do is to buy gold or silver coins and use them to store your wealth in the physical form of the instrument.
3. Indirect Precious Metals Trading. Some traders use exchange traded and mutual funds to purchase the asset. Both are known as indirect investment techniques. The main idea of the approach is to use niche-specific funds. As a trader, you invest specific assets in the fund that manages the process of metal purchasing and selling depending on the precious metals price. The majority of such funds generally act on the London and New York exchange.

The Potential of Trading Precious Metals

As we have already stated, precious metals are among the most reliable and highly-traded assets. According to the available information generated from the London market, people complete transactions that involve more than 170 million ounces of silver and 19 million ounces of gold daily. Considering the geopolitical and economic satiation in the world, that volume is very likely to increase in the near future.

Investors can select various approaches, while future contracts make it possible to explore specific mechanisms that let you manage exposure in reference to the underlying market. NYMEX and COMEX are the most popular precious metals futures contracts providers. They offer clear and transparent precious metals price and exchange rates letting investors grow their wealth by utilising various types of hedging strategies.

The Bottom Line

Summing up, precious metals trading offers a variety of instruments to invest in. These types of markets boast enough liquidity to try out different trading strategies and approaches. Some may want to experience the results of intraday gold trading methodologies while others seek more steady and long-term investing opportunities. No matter what you choose, precious metals trading has them all.

This material does not contain and should not be construed as containing investment advice, investment recommendations, an offer of or solicitation for any transactions in financial instruments. Before making any investment decisions, you should seek advice from independent financial advisors to ensure you understand the risks.