Your company wants to move into the industrial metals commodity market. Your colleagues from other firms have made money in precious metals trading. Now you need to learn the ins and outs of this market to increase company profits.

You have a general idea of what factors cause the prices of precious metals to move up and down. However, it doesn’t hurt to get a refresher course. Acquire metals commodity market education and training through the following methods:

1. Take courses in order to become familiar with precious metals trading.

2. Read books so you can learn how to buy and trade precious metals.

3. Become familiar with the industrial metals commodity market via webcasts or podcasts.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Learn about precious metal trading through courses

Taking courses should be your first step in getting metals commodity market education and training. Courses on the metals commodity market focus on the fundamentals. You'll not only learn how this market works, but what causes the prices to change. You'll also learn about the risks before you decide to purchase precious metals. Another area you'll learn about is regulation and how it can affect this market.

I recommend: New York Institute of Finance offers a two-day course that focuses on the industrial metals commodity market. You’ll learn about the basics of trading metals. Research and Markets also offers an introductory course on the metals futures market. You’ll learn about supply and demand, the players in the market, and strategies in metals trading.

Learn how to buy and trade precious metals through books offered on the Internet

Like courses, books can be great for obtaining metals commodity market education and training. They will cover supply and demand and you'll learn about trading strategies that work best with precious metals investing. For example, some of the strategies you will learn are spread or cash-and-carry trades. Books will explain how these work and when to use them.

I recommend: Powell’s Books has a book, Commodity Fundamentals: How to Trade the Precious Metals, Energy, Grain and Tropical Commodity Markets, that focuses on the basics of the industrial metals commodity market. You will learn about trading strategies. You’ll also want to check out Precious Metals Investing for Dummies. This book teaches you how to buy and trade precious metals.

Get metals commodity market education and training through webcasts or podcasts

Do you need to get more knowledge when it comes to a specific area of the metals futures market? Perhaps you want to improve your trading strategies. You've tested your methodologies, but they're not working. Watching a webcast or listening to a podcast can give you the solution. These educational methods are known for focusing on a particular area. You can learn valuable information that you might not learn in books or classes.

I recommend: B2Gold offers webcasts on metals futures. Podfeed also offers podcasts on the metals commodity market. Here, you’ll listen to technical analysis from professional traders and market analysts.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  To keep learning about precious metals trading, make an effort to attend conferences on the metals commodity market.

Investing in the metals commodity market can be lucrative. For one thing, precious metals have intrinsic value. This is a primary reason for adding precious metals to your business portfolio. Keep in mind however, metals trading can be risky and volatile.

Experts say you should have approximately 10 to 20% of your investments in tangible assets, such as platinum, gold or silver. One major reason you should consider precious metals investing is to protect yourself during periods when the dollar falls. Like the stock market, it's important to know information on precious metals so you'll know when to buy and sell. You can find this information by doing the following:

1. Use the exchanges to monitor charts and news on precious metals.

2. Check precious metals indexes frequently.

3. Sign up with a metals dealer to purchase precious metals.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Use exchanges to monitor charts and news on precious metals trading

Make a habit of looking at the exchanges to see how precious metals are doing. Exchanges will help you decide whether you should invest in gold or invest in silver, for example. Charts give you a visible picture of the metals commodity market, helping you to see if it's in an uptrend or downtrend. Use the charts to help you decide when to buy and trade precious metals.

I recommend: The New York Mercantile Exchange is the largest commodity futures exchange in the world. You’ll want to look specifically at its COMEX Divisions, which focus on gold, silver, copper, aluminum, and precious metals from other countries. If you’re looking to trade in metals futures, you’ll want to look at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. The exchange has the first electronic and global trading platform, CME Globex, for metals futures.

Study precious metals trading indexes

Studying the precious metals indexes can also give you good ideas of what's happening in the industrial metals commodity market. Examine the index of the top-producing precious metals companies. Studying the index can give you an overall picture of the industrial metals commodity market.

I recommend: Dow Jones Precious Metals Index consists of U.S. trading stocks of companies that specialize in precious metals, including platinum, silver, and gold. The index has data on these stocks available back to December 31, 2000. If you're looking to invest in gold globally, you'll want to check out the Gold-Eagle Gold Fund Index. This index consist of eight precious metals mutual funds from different countries, including South Africa, Australia, Canada, and South America.

Purchase precious metals through a dealer

Open an account with a precious metals dealers firm. Not only can you open an account and trade, but you can take advantage of the firm's research tools and news on the markets. These firms publish news on precious metals market so you can decide if this is the right time to buy and trade precious metals.

I recommend: Consider Monex Precious Metals, which has been in business for more than 40 years. Its Monex Atlas Account is designed for short-term precious metals trading, especially during periods when silver's price is volatile.  You'll also want to consider Blanchard and Company, the largest precious metals dealer in the U.S. The company employs highly-skilled professionals who will help you with your precious metals investment decisions.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Save your charts so that you can see trends in precious metals investing and determine when you want to buy or sell.