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| Actuals |
Physical commodities as opposed to futures contracts or the commodity that underlies a futures contract. |
| Ag |
The chemical symbol for silver. |
| Alloy |
A substance composed of two or more metals. |
| Allocated Metal |
Assigning defined quantities of physical metals to specific accounts. For example, if an investor buys shares in a gold exchange-traded fund, each share is backed by a defined amount of physical gold. |
| Approved Carriers |
An exchange-authorized armored carrier approved for the transport of precious metals. |
| Argentum |
Latin for silver. |
| Ask |
The price which the seller is willing to accept for a commodity; also known as the offer price. |
| Assay |
The act of testing the purity of precious metals. |
| Au |
The chemical symbol for gold. |
| Aurum |
Latin for gold. |
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| Backwardation |
The theory that posits that as a futures contract approaches
expiration, its price tends to rise; also known as an inverted market. |
| Bank Wire |
An electronic transfer of funds through the Federal Reserve System from one financial institution to another for the benefit of a specific account. |
| Base Metal |
Copper, aluminum, iron, lead, nickel, tin and zinc. |
| Basis |
The variation between the spot price of a deliverable and the relative price of the futures for the same actual that has the shortest duration until maturity. |
| Bear Market |
Market characterized by a declining trend in terms of prices. |
| Bid |
The bid price is the price at which a dealer is willing to buy a commodity; opposite of "ask". |
| Bullion |
Precious metals, including gold, silver, platinum, and palladium, that are traded based on their intrinsic metal value. |
| Bullion Coin |
A precious metal coin whose market value is determined by its inherent precious metal content. They are bought and sold mainly for investment purposes. |
| Bull Market |
Market characterized by upwardly moving price trend. |
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| Carry Market |
A market situation in which a futures contract for a commodity has a higher value in the nearest delivery month relative to the expiration date. |
| Carrying Charge |
The cost associated with holding a financial instrument or storing a physical commodity over a defined period of time. |
| Cash |
U.S. currency. |
| Cash Commodity |
The actual physical commodity underlying a futures contract. |
| Cash Market |
The market for a cash commodity where the actual physical product is traded. |
| Cashier's Check |
Check drawn by a bank with its own funds and signed by its cashier. |
| Central Bank |
The entity responsible for establishing a nation's monetary and fiscal policy and controlling the money supply and interest rates. In the U.S., the Federal Reserve Board is often referred to as the central bank. |
| Close |
The official end of a trading session. |
| Commission |
The fee charged by a broker for the execution of an order. |
| Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) |
U.S. federal regulatory agency created under the Commodity Futures Trading Commission Act of 1974. It ensures open and efficient operation of the futures markets. |
| Contango |
A market situation in which prices are higher in the succeeding delivery months than in the nearest delivery month. Also known as a carry market, it is the opposite of backwardation. |
| Current Delivery Month |
Also called the spot month, it refers to the period during which a futures contract becomes available during the current month or the month closest to scheduled delivery. |
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| Deliverable Bar |
A precious metals bar with a weight, fineness and hallmark approved as a tradable unit on a commodity exchange. |
| Delivery |
The exchange by which an underlying commodity, cash, or other delivery instrument is tendered and received by the contract holder. |
| Delivery Point |
A location designated by an exchange at which delivery may be made in fulfillment of contract terms. |
| Depository or Warehouse Receipt |
A document issued by a depository institution indicating ownership of a commodity stored in a vault or warehouse. |
| Derivative |
Financial instrument whose value is derived from the underlying actual, futures contract, or other financial instrument. For example, futures contracts are derivatives of physical commodities, options on futures are derivatives of futures contracts. |
| Dore Bullion |
An impure alloy of silver or gold named for the Dore furnace used at mining facilitues that produces it. |
| Ductility |
An ability to change shape drastically without breaking. The capacity of a metal to be hammered into a thin sheet or drawn into a fine wire. |
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| Exchange of Futures for Physicals (EFP) |
The name given to the method by which both parites of a futures contract tha has underlying cash commodities agree to close out their positions simultaneously. |
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