Silver Soars to Best Month in 22 Years, Eagle Sales Rise

Silver continued its spectacular rise Friday, soaring another 45 cents in New York and scoring the best monthly increase in 22 years.

Silver futures for July closed to $15.61 an ounce, jumping 27 percent on the month for the biggest gain since April 1987. London spot silver ended at $15.52 an ounce earlier in the day, surging 64 cents.

"Extreme dollar weakness is adding to the momentum," Pradeep Unni, an analyst at Richcomm Global Services in Dubai, was quoted on Bloomberg. "Ascending oil prices, concerns of inflation and fears of massive U.S. debt have certainly been supporting" both gold and silver.

American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins experienced movement as well. Reports were abound earlier in the week on how authorized dealers for the U.S. Mint trimmed orders and left an inventory of bullion coins behind — a situation that had been unheard of since the Mint started rationing the coins and suspended production of the 2009 collector proof and uncirculated versions.

For more than a week and up through Memorial Day, the total sales of eagle silver bullion coins stood atypically still at 1,602,000 for May, and 11,277,000 for the year. The tallies began to climb this week, reflecting an apparent interest with the rise of bullion prices. According to the latest available US Mint bullion coin figures, 1,904,500 of the bullion silver eagles have been sold in May for a total of 11,579,500 this year.

In checking current eBay auctions for 2009 Silver Eagle Bullion Coins, BuyItNow prices are at $21 per coin at the least expensive level. New listings are showing active bidding in the $20 range.

For silver eagle bullion trends from Jan-April (2000-2009), see 2009 Silver Eagle Bullion Coins Scorching Hot.

In other precious metal news, New York gold for June deliver rose $17.30, or 1.8 percent, to $978.80 an ounce — the highest level for the yellow metal since Feb. 23. July platinum soared $46.20, or 4.0 percent, to $1,196.00 an ounce.