Barry Stuppler

THE ISSUE: The price relationship between gold and platinum reflects continued economic worries, but the historically wide spread of the two metals could signal trading opportunities.

Platinum is about 15 times more rare than gold and usually trades at a premium to the yellow metal. But the greater the worry about the economy, the higher gold trades in relation to platinum.

"The relative performance of these metals is telling us that ....

When it comes to precious metals, palladium may give investors more bang for their buck than its flashier cousins.

The often-forgotten white metal is expected to outstrip gains of both gold and silver again this year, thanks to concerns over supply disruptions and surging car sales in fast-growing Asian countries.

Palladium is mainly used to make catalytic converters to reduce toxic emissions from gasoline-fuelled cars sold in Asia and North America. Its sister metal, platinum, is similarly used in diesel-powered autos sold mostly in Europe, but that market has been weaker, suppressing platinum’s buoyancy.

“Palladium is my top pick among precious metals this year,” said Patricia Mohr, a commodity markets specialist at Bank of Nova Scotia ....

GOLD What a week for Gold investors, Gold was up $111 per ounce (or 6.79%) in just five days.  It broke through the $1,700 psychological resistance price level on excellent volume and global demand. This breakout signals the acknowledgment that more quantitative easing is coming. The monetary stimulus (printing over 1 Trillion Euros) is the key element in last week’s...

GOLD With gold trading at $1,726.50 today at 11am PDT, we end the month with a $104.20 per ounce increase. Gold is down $19 on the day, and showed excellent support in the $1,715 area this early this morning as Japan intervened in the currency markets, which caused the U.S. dollar to rally sharply. Today, UBS Banking reiterated it’s $2,200...