GOLD (XAU 959) is one of the most highly-sought after precious metals in the world. It is used in jewelry, electronics, and coinage. Gold is widely considered to be an effective hedge against inflation, which means that when the dollar depreciates, demand for gold increases. In addition, during times of economic and political uncertainty, the demand for Gold rises due to its high intrinsic value and relative stability. More on wikinvest …
SILVER (XAG 961) is a precious metal that is used in many different areas such as jewelry, photography, and a wide array of industrial applications. In fact, industrial applications (for example computers, cell phones, TV, batteries, pharmaceuticals) made up about 54% of the world’s silver fabrication demand in 2007. More on wikinvest …
PLATINUM (NYMEX: PL) is an exceedingly rare (30 times rarer than gold), silvery-white precious metal used in jewelry making, electronics components and various industrial applications. About half of all global platinum consumption is for the manufacture of automobile catalytic converters. More on wikinvest …
PALLADIUM (XPD 964) along with platinum, rhodium, ruthenium, iridium and osmium form a group of elements referred to as the platinum group metals (PGMs). Platinum group metals share similar chemical properties, but palladium has the lowest melting point and is the least dense of these precious metals. Palladium is found in many electronics including computers, mobile phones, multi-layer ceramic capacitors, component plating, low voltage electrical contacts, and SED/OLED/LCD televisions. Palladium is also used in dentistry, medicine, hydrogen purification, chemical applications, and groundwater treatment. Palladium plays a key role in the technology used for fuel cells, which combines hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity, heat and water.
ISO 4217 (in parentheses after each precious metal title, except for platinum) is the international standard describing three-letter codes (also known as the currency code) to define the names of currencies established by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). The ISO 4217 code list is the established norm in banking and business all over the world for defining different currencies, and in many countries the codes for the more common currencies are so well known publicly, that exchange rates published in newspapers or posted in banks use only these to define the different currencies, instead of translated currency names or ambiguous currency symbols. ISO 4217 codes are used on airline tickets and international train tickets to remove any ambiguity about the price.
