Writing to Mark and Metal

The editorial desk answers questions about published measurements, corrects figures that are wrong, and states plainly what it cannot do.

Email: [email protected]

How the desk is accountable

Mark and Metal is an independent editorial desk. It is not a broker, not an exchange, not a licensed adviser. It holds no client money and gives no advice on buying or selling. The desk publishes one measurement, taken from named public sources, and republishes it with the date and the hour it was read. The trade body publishes a price for each mark; the third column divides it by the gold that mark contains. The sources are named under every table, with a link, so a reader can check the figure at its publisher.

Responsibility for the figures sits with the editorial desk. The desk reads the sources, records the time of reading, and answers corrections. No person is named as author or editor; the desk is the accountable body. A reader who finds a figure that looks wrong should write because the desk wants to know. The desk checks its own work against the source and corrects the page if the published figure was wrong.

What to write to the desk

Write about a figure that looks wrong. Write about a source that has moved or closed, because a dead link is as bad as a wrong number. Write about a question of method: how the measurement is taken, why the hour is shown, why a rate is divided the way it is. Write about a correction, either one already posted or one you believe is still needed. The desk reads every message that arrives at the address given below and answers those that concern its own pages.

A correction is dated on the page. When a figure is corrected, the page shows the new figure, the date of the correction, and a note that the earlier figure was wrong. The desk does not silently change a number. The correction note is brief and factual. It does not apologise for the error in a way that buries the fact; it states what was printed, what the source said, and when the page was changed.

What the desk cannot do

The desk cannot answer questions about a broker's account. It cannot help with deposits, withdrawals, verification, or any matter inside a broker's system. The broker's own site is operated by someone else, under its own terms and its own privacy policy, and following the link leaves this site. The desk has no access to any account and no standing with the broker to resolve a reader's dispute.

The desk cannot give personal investment advice. It cannot say whether a reader should buy, sell, or hold. It cannot offer tips, predictions, or recommendations. The figures describe what things cost, not what a reader should do. A question that begins with 'should I' is outside the desk's remit. The desk will not answer it, and a reader should not wait for an answer.

Affiliate link and how the site is funded

The site links to one broker, FxPro, through an affiliate link. If a reader follows that link and opens an account there, the site is paid a commission by the broker. The reader pays nothing to this site and nothing extra at the broker. This is the only affiliate relationship the site has. No other broker, dealer, or exchange pays this desk. The desk does not sell subscriptions, accept payments for coverage, or charge for corrections.

The site has no accounts, no login, no newsletter and no comment form. It sets no cookie of its own, runs no analytics and stores nothing in the reader's browser. The pages are served by a hosting provider which, like any web host, keeps its own technical request logs; the site's publisher does not read a reader's personal data out of them. Writing to the address on this page reaches the editor; it is the only channel the desk operates.