Precious metals investment terms A to Z

Within definitions

Pair trading is a market neutral trading strategy that profits from virtual market risk conditions such as sharp swings or sideways movements. Relative price movements between the stocks validate profits on trade. Also, pair trading is a hedge against individual fluctuations in the sector and the overall market where the stocks belong.

Paper Gold

Paper gold – an asset that reflects the price of gold while not actually being gold itself; it’s not backed by real metal, so it’s considered to be only on paper.

Paper Silver

An asset that reflects the price of silver while not being silver itself; it’s not backed by real metal, so it’s considered to exist only on paper.

Pattern

A pattern, as the word suggests, is something that repeats in a noticeable way. For example, a patterned carpet consists of repeating images that are similar or the same. But there are more useful patterns in our everyday life and, more to the point, patterns that have implications for precious metals investors. Below we present a few examples of every day patterns.

PCEPI (Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index)

The Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index (PCEPI) measures the average change in prices for all domestic personal consumption. There is also core PCEPI which excludes high volatility items, such as food or energy. It is a part of the Personal Income and Outlays Report issued monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and it is derived from personal consumption expenditures. The index is similar in many respects to the CPI, but there are some important differences. In particular, they are calculated by distinct formulas, they assign different weights to particular goods and services, and they have various scopes.

People’s Bank of China (PBOC)

The People’s Bank of China, based in Beijing, is the central bank of China which conducts the monetary policy in mainland China. The top management of the PBOC is composed of a governor and a certain number of deputy governors. Zhou Xiaochuan has been the governor of the PBOC since December 2002. The objective of the PBOC’s monetary policy is to maintain the stability of the value of the currency and therefore promote economic growth.

Personal Income and Outlays

The Personal Income and Outlays Report (sometimes called the Personal Consumption Report) is issued monthly by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, 4-5 weeks after month’s end. It is an important economic indicator to help gauge the strength of the consumer sector in the U.S. The report contains two sections: the first section deals with personal income, while the other deals with personal outlays.

Phi number

Phi (Greek letter φ) – also known as the golden number or the golden ratio – is an irrational number, approximately equal to 1.61803399, that can be used to predict market moves, as it is an indispensable element of such tools as Fibonacci retracement levels or Elliott wave theory.

Platinum as an Element

Chemically, platinum is an element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It belongs to noble metals, being one of the rarer elements in Earth's crust. Platinum is also a member of the family of platinum group metals (PGMs) which also includes palladium, rhodium, iridium, osmium, and ruthenium. It is the least reactive metal and, as other precious metals, it resists corrosion. Due to its malleability and ductility (and resistance to wear and tarnish), platinum is also widely used in the jewelry industry as a substitute for gold. Platinum is silver to dark steel-grey in color, which probably explains why it is often mistaken for silver. Actually, its name derives from the Spanish platina, literally meaning “little silver”.

Platinum as an Investment

Platinum has never practically served as money (except for a short period in Russia, where platinum coins were used as a regular national currency), but it is used an investment. Because it is a precious metal, platinum often trades directionally with gold. However, platinum is much more widely used in the industry; therefore, it behaves more like a commodity and it is more business cycle-sensitive than gold or even silver.

PM Stock

Abbreviation for Precious Metals Stock.

Point Optimization

Point optimization requires solving problems concerning the maximization or minimization of a real function by checking all available alternatives (variables), and thereby discovering the best available solution.

Portfolio

A grouping of financial assets such as stocks, bonds and cash equivalents, as well as their mutual, exchange-traded and closed-fund counterparts. Portfolios are held directly by investors and/or managed by financial professionals.

Portfolio focused on the precious metals sector can be called a gold portfolio.

Portfolio Diversifier

A portfolio diversifier is a portfolio addition which reduces the overall risk in a portfolio. This is an important feature, since diversification allows investor to obtain a desired return without taking as much risk as with an individual security.

PPI (Producer Price Index)

The Producer Price Index (PPI) measures the average change in the price of a basket of representative goods and services sold by manufacturers and producers in the wholesale market (this is why it was known in the U.S. as the Wholesale Price Index up to 1978).

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Precious metals investment terms A to Z

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