Precious metals delivered another year of strong performance, with double digit percentage gains for gold, silver, platinum, and palladium.
Palladium led the pack with an increase of 96.77% for the year. The metal is now at a nine year high, with gains attributed to the dwindling stockpiles in Russia amidst increased demand for use within catalytic converters in gasoline powered automobiles. As recently as December 2008, the price of palladium was $164 per ounce, compared to this year’s closing price of $791.
Silver had an impressive year with a gain of more than 80%, outperforming gold’s rise of 27.74%. With the price of silver moving up faster than gold, the gold-silver ratio continues to contract. This ratio indicates the number of ounces of silver necessary to purchase one ounce of gold. At the start of the year, the ratio was 64.98. At the close of the year, the ratio is 46.04.
The table below shows the last available London Fix prices from 2009, today’s London AM Fix price, the change, and percentage change.
2010 Precious Metals Price Performance
| Dec 31, 2009 | Dec 31, 2010 | Change | Percent | |
| Gold | $1,104.00 | $1,410.25 | $306.25 | 27.74% |
| Silver | 16.99 | 30.63 | 13.64 | 80.28% |
| Platinum | 1,466.00 | 1,731.00 | 265.00 | 18.08% |
| Palladium | 402.00 | 791.00 | 389.00 | 96.77% |
Although palladium and silver outshone gold this year, gold continues its impressive streak of consecutive annual gains. The price of gold has recorded an annual gain each year since 2001. During the ten year period, the price of gold has risen more than fourfold from $272 per ounce to $1,410.
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