A truthful review of the Ukrainian Precious Metals Exchange: what the company does

The Ukrainian Precious Metals Exchange (UBME) is the first consulting company in Ukraine that provides assistance in the circulation of banking metals.

At the end of 2000, it was decided to create this company and the corresponding website.

Anyone can receive free and professional consultation, regardless of whether he is a citizen of Ukraine or not.

The best specialists in banking are invited to work at the precious metals exchange, both at the Ukrainian and international levels. In the two leading countries for the turnover of precious metals: Russia and Switzerland, the exchange website has received fame and recognition. The exchange helped a large number of banks acquire the status of the largest metal traders on the Ukrainian currency market.

About the exchange

First, I will provide basic information about this site.

History of the exchange

The Ukrainian Precious Metals Exchange (UBME) is a relatively young organization, created in 2000, that is, it is only 18 years old. Compared to the world leaders in precious metals trading, such as the London or Shanghai exchanges, which have been operating for more than a century, the Ukrainian company is not impressive.

But if you understand the nuances of metals trade in Ukraine, it becomes clear that UBDM has already achieved serious results.

Until 2000, metals in Ukraine were officially traded only on Thursdays on the interbank currency exchange, from which we conclude that the supply and demand for precious metals was extremely low.

In today's conditions of globalization and technological progress, the increase in demand for precious metals in the world has led to its growth in Ukraine, which has given impetus to the active development of UBDM.

What precious metals are traded here?

The Ukrainian precious metals market is still in its infancy. However, you can now freely sell and buy basic investment metals:

• gold;
• silver;
• platinum;
• palladium.

Most consumers of the services of the Ukrainian Precious Metals Exchange traditionally choose gold. This is dictated not only by its high price and tendency to rise in price, but also by habit. Gold has been considered the most significant value in the entire world for thousands of years, and people find it difficult to switch to anything else.

Many investors recommend investing in silver at the beginning of the 21st century, believing that humanity will soon begin to value it higher than it has previously valued. Whether this is true or not, we still have to find out.

How the auction works

Since UBDM in the classical sense is not an exchange, but a consulting company, trading in its standard form is not held here.

When setting prices, UBDM is guided by quotes from the leaders of the world trade in precious metals - the London and Shanghai exchanges, which post them twice a day.

On the Ukrainian market, trade is carried out in Ukrainian hryvnia, so the final price of the metal depends both on world quotations and on the exchange rate of the national currency against the dollar, set by the National Bank of Ukraine.

Prices for each metal change twice a day, so it is possible to close a transaction at the current price before the official publication of new prices.

Silver samples and care

As you know, all silver jewelry alloys have their own hallmark. There are only eight of them:

• 720 sample. Contains 72% silver. This alloy is very soft, but difficult to melt, and also has a yellow tint. The use of such an alloy is possible only in industry;
• 800 sample. Contains 80% silver. The alloys of this sample are of extremely low quality and quickly oxidize under the influence of atmospheric phenomena. It also has a tint of yellow. However, this alloy also has positive properties. Due to its high casting quality, cutlery can be made from it;
• 830 sample. Silver content not less than 83%. In terms of its qualities and application, it is no different from 800 standard;
• 875 sample. The silver content is 87.5%. Due to this, it is widely used for industrial purposes and jewelry;
• 925 sample. Contains 92.5% silver. This alloy is not subject to corrosion and has a silver-white color and melts well. Jewelry of this standard is not exposed to atmospheric conditions and retains its hardness. Such silver is used to make jewelry;
• 916 sample. Not used;
• 960 sample. Silver of this standard is of the best quality and is no different from pure silver. It is used in jewelry production for the manufacture of exquisite, highly artistic jewelry.

Pros and cons of this exchange

Among the advantages of servicing the Ukrainian Precious Metals Exchange, I would highlight:

• guarantee of confidentiality to all clients;
• legal support for clients;
• low commission compared to the tariffs of commercial banks;
• high liquidity of sold metals.

As disadvantages I will name:

1. To keep up with online quotes, you will need special software.
2. To trade, you will need a brokerage account.
3. The legislative framework regulating exchange trading in Ukraine is not enough.

Prospects for investment in precious metals

Investing in precious metals has always been considered less risky than, for example, in stocks or mutual funds. Experienced investors say that you cannot make quick money on precious metals; these are investments for the long term.

Quotes of such precious metals as silver, palladium and platinum largely depend on world gold prices. And the latter’s quotes are given in US dollars. That is, there is a direct connection between the exchange rates of the dollar and gold. Considering the unstable political and economic situation in the world in recent years, the constant fluctuations in gold prices are not surprising.

But in general, experienced analysts and investors agree that precious metals are a profitable investment for your money.

Caring for silver items

As yours mentioned, silver, depending on its sample, has different mechanical properties, including blackening. To avoid this, there are many different ways to care for your silver. The main thing is to avoid contact of the product with detergents, water, and do not wear the product constantly.

Note: Silver is a soft metal. Aggressive cleaning agents containing abrasive particles should be avoided.

Methods for cleaning silver:

• Special product for cleaning silver items. You can buy it at a hardware store. However, such funds are not cheap;
• Ammonia. Proportion: 2 tablespoons of alcohol per 1 liter of water;
• Vinegar. Blot a soft cloth with a warm 6% solution and wipe.

There are many more folk methods for cleaning silver.

Interesting facts about the exchange

Before the start of the work of the UBDM, Ukraine as a state had only 5 tons of gold reserves, and at the beginning of 2005 this figure was already equal to 15.6 tons. It is difficult to judge whether this is due to the work of the precious metals exchange, but the fact remains a fact.

In addition to consulting, the Ukrainian company also offers its services as an intermediary in obtaining a loan for the purchase of precious metals.

The tax legislation of Ukraine poorly regulates the issues of trade in impersonal metals, which gives rise to many fraudulent schemes.

The Ukrainian Precious Metals Exchange is a young organization, but due to the lack of alternative structures in Ukraine, it is becoming larger and more influential every year.

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Price dynamics

Precious metals quotes experience ups and downs in the same way as other exchange instruments. In general, they have, of course, grown over the foreseeable historical period. But for speculative trading or investing, it is important to monitor and understand short-term fluctuations in the precious metals exchange.

How have quotes changed over the past 10 years?

The prices for precious metals may generally be the same. For example, there is a growing trend on exchanges for all types of precious metals. But they can grow in different ways; rollbacks or fluctuations can occur with different intensity. To understand the essence of the process, I will consider quotes for 10 years for all types of metals.

Gold

For the first time, the precious metal reached the mark of $1,000 per troy ounce on the stock exchange in March 2008. Then a rollback occurred, and for the second time a troy ounce of gold reached this symbolic mark in February 2009.

It was not possible to break through such a strong resistance line for the second time, and from February to September 2009, quotes fluctuated from 880 to 990. And then the resistance was broken and a sharp increase occurred - in November 2009 the price reached 1226. This often happens after prices were able to overcome strong resistance. Growth can be fast and strong.

But then a rollback to 1070 and an assault on new heights since May 2010. Here the growth was not so sharp, but quite stable, in almost all months (except July 2010), it brought quotes to the level of $1,418 by December.

A slight pullback in January 2011 to the level of 1318 and a new rise to 1911 in August of the same year. This decline was interspersed with attempts to rise to 1750, but overall the price of the precious metal on the exchange was closer to $1500.

In September 2011, the decline began to 1536. From October 2012 and the level of 1790 dollars per ounce, gold began to slide down. The fall stopped in June 2013 at the level of 1194.

Until June 2015, gold was in a sideways trend; the price range of the precious metal on the stock exchange was 1140-1400 with a slight tilt towards the lower edge.

And in July 2015, the support level was broken, prices went lower, to 1054.

Quotes bounced off this level in February 2021 and went up to 1370 in July. But in December the level was again at 1054, and in September 2021 the level was 1350. After a slight decline, the next three months again attempted growth to 1367 in January 2021.

In August 2021, the price of gold was again at the lower limit of the corridor - 1158. But over the last year, gold has been in a growing trend, the price on the stock exchange reached $1440 per troy ounce.

Silver

The minimum value of the precious metal on the stock exchange over the past 10-12 years was 8,300 in October 2008.

Then a three-year upward trend, during which silver prices increased more than fivefold and reached $49,836 per troy ounce in April 2001. However, in May, silver prices fell to 32,400. True, in August of that year, quotes on the stock exchange rose to 44, but this was a short-term surge, and in September the price even dropped to 26.

Until March 2013, the rate fluctuated in the price range of 26-36, until from April to June it dropped to 18.

A local minimum of $13,700 per ounce of the precious metal was reached in December 2015.

Since then, for almost four years, silver prices have been more or less stable and range from 13 to 18. The exception was June-July 2016, when quotes tried to go beyond the corridor, but the most they were able to do was try to overcome the level at 20 dollars.

In stock quotes of silver, unlike gold, the sideways movement continues. As you can see, trends for precious metals do not always coincide.

Platinum

A review of the last decade of platinum quotations on the stock exchange should begin with the peak: December 2007 - February-March 2008 - October 2008. Accordingly, the price per troy ounce: 1445 - 2305 - 754 dollars. In less than a year, there was almost a twofold increase, and then a threefold decline.

In November 2008, a phase of growth in precious metal quotations began, which stopped in April 2010 at the level of 1758. A five-month fluctuation was 144-1648 and a smooth increase to 1882 in May 2011.

This level remained until September 2011, when platinum fell in price to 1472.

The price range for the precious metal was 1418–1674 until June 2013. Then the levels dropped to 1336–1472, but the trend remained sideways. Volatility during this period was low, prices changed, but not very much.

But in August 2014 the rate went down. At first it looked like a fluctuation in the corridor (movement towards the lower border). But without any difficulties or special pullbacks, quotes dropped to $827 per ounce by the end of 2015.

True, in August 2021 they even reached 1200, but this was only a surge in a generally sideways trend with boundaries at the levels of $796-1020.

This movement continues to this day.

Palladium

Palladium at the beginning of 2009 was priced on the stock exchange in the range of $170-190 per ounce. At this time, a growing trend began that became steeper. In April 2010, an ounce cost $572. Then a decline in May to 392, the next month of fluctuations around 450 and a sharp jump to 805 in December.

The whole of 2011 saw fluctuations in a sideways trend from 688 to 848. August-September of that year were bad months for the palladium market, the price went to 532.

However, by March 2013, with rollbacks and decreases in quotations, prices for the precious metal rose to $787.

But the real growth began in February 2014 from the level of $702. By August there were already 907.

And then from September 2014 to January 2021 they dropped to $453 per ounce.

In February 2021, a new growing trend began, during which quotes rose to $1,130 in January 2021, and after falling in August just below the 900 mark, new peaks were stormed: 1,549 in February 2019 and 1,571 in July.

Palladium, unlike all precious metals, is currently in a phase of rapid growth and is reaching historical price records.