Question

The price of platinum went from $1,433.00 a troy ounce down to $931.45 a troy ounce during the past 2 months. This represents a decrease in price of what percent?

Answer 1

The percentage of increase or decrease is usually calculated with respect to the original quantity. In this case, of the original price.

Original price of platinum = $1,433.00

Price after 2 months = $931.45

Decrease = $1,433.00 - $931.45 = $501.55

This is the quantity we will compare to the original price as a percentage:

pct decrease = $501.55 / $1,433.00 = 0.35

The percent decrease in price was 35%