Fundamentals
The five metals and what moves them
Gold, silver, platinum, palladium and copper get grouped together on price boards, but they are not variations on a theme. They have different buyers, different supply, and different reasons to move. Understanding which is which explains most of what looks like inconsistency on a chart.
Gold — the monetary one
Gold's demand is dominated by investment, jewellery and central bank reserves. Industrial use exists but is small. Almost all the gold ever mined still exists, so above-ground stock dwarfs annual mine supply — which means gold's price is set by what existing holders will accept, not by this year's production. That is why gold responds to interest rates, currencies and confidence rather than to industrial cycles.
Silver — half money, half industry
Roughly half of silver demand is industrial: electronics, brazing alloys, medical applications and, increasingly, photovoltaics — solar cells use silver paste, which has made the solar build-out a structural source of demand. The other half behaves like a monetary metal. This split personality is why silver is more volatile than gold in both directions: it gets the investment flows and the industrial cycle. Much silver also comes out of the ground as a by-product of copper, lead and zinc mining, so its supply doesn't respond neatly to its own price.
Platinum and palladium — the automotive pair
Both are catalytic converter metals, and for years their fortunes tracked engine technology: platinum weighted towards diesel, palladium towards gasoline. When emissions rules and consumer preferences shifted, the two metals repriced dramatically against each other — palladium at one point moving to a large premium over platinum, reversing a long historical relationship. Substitution between them in catalysts is technically possible, which puts a rough elastic band around the spread.
Supply is the other defining feature: both are produced from a handful of geographies, with South Africa and Russia heavily represented. Concentrated supply means labour disputes, power shortages and sanctions can move these prices in ways that have no analogue in gold.
Copper — the industrial bellwether
Copper is not a precious metal at all, and that is precisely why it is on the board. Its price is a read on global industrial activity: construction, grid infrastructure, electrification, data centres and electric vehicles all consume it heavily. Traders' nickname for it — "Dr Copper", the metal with a PhD in economics — reflects its reputation as a growth indicator. Watching copper alongside gold gives you a crude but useful reading of growth expectations against monetary anxiety.
A note on units
Gold, silver, platinum and palladium are quoted per troy ounce. Copper is conventionally quoted per pound or per tonne. If a comparison ever looks absurd, check the units before checking the analysis.
Educational content only. Not a recommendation to buy or sell any metal.