Gold Down for 3rd Session, Silver Up, US Bullion Coins Soar

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Gold bullion bars and American Eagle bullion coins
US gold and silver bullion coins surged Monday, supported by the release of the new 2013 Silver Eagles

Gold prices fell for the third session Monday as Fed policy matters remain in the spotlight.

Gold for February delivery dipped $2.60, or 0.2%, to $1,646.30 an ounce on the Comex in New York. Prices ranged through intraday levels of $1,642.60 and $1,663.00.

On Jan. 3, Fed notes revealed QE3 could end this year, and that continues to weigh on precious metals markets according to analysts.

"The market is lackluster since people want some clarity from the Fed," Bloomberg quoted Adam Klopfenstein, a senior market strategist at Archer Financial Services Inc. in Chicago, said in a telephone interview.

Gold’s biggest drop in the last three sessions occurred Friday as prices fell $25.70 to cement a sixth straight weekly decline.

Some analysts suggest that gold could rise sharply if U.S. economic data remains sours since that would encourage the Fed to continue its stimulus measures, Reuters relays and published the following quote from TD Bank strategists:

"It’s difficult to make assumptions … whether the FOMC minutes represent a material change of monetary policy from the Fed, and we are well aware that an off-the-cuff remark by Fed Chairman Bernanke could reverse the markets in an instant."

In other New York futures prices on Monday:

  • March silver settled at $30.082 an ounce, advancing 13.6 cents, or 0.5%. Silver prices traded between $29.860 and $30.475. The white metal snapped a two-session losing streak.

  • Platinum for April delivery slipped $2.20, or 0.1%, to $1,556.30 an ounce, ranging from $1,551.00 to $1,571.30.

  • March palladium closed at $670.00 an ounce, plunging $18.50, or 2.7%. Palladium traded between $663.20 and $692.55.

Last week, platinum rallied 2.4%, silver was down 0.1% and palladium declined 7.2%.

Precious Metals in London

Aside from silver, London precious metals declined Monday. In contrasting the latest London PM fixings:

  • Gold declined $2.75, or 0.2%, to $1,645.25 an ounce,
  • Silver added 82.0 cents, or 2.8%, to $30.14 an ounce,
  • Platinum fell $6.00, or 0.4%, to $1,551.00 an ounce, and
  • Palladium shed $13.50, or 2.0%, to $675.50 an ounce

London precious metals losses last week were 0.6% for gold, 2.8% for silver and 2.1% for palladium. Platinum climbed 2.0%.

Sales of US Mint Bullion Coins

For the first time this year, sales advanced across every type of United States Mint bullion product.

Pent-up demand drove first day sales of the 2013-dated American Eagle silver bullion coins. The inventory of last year’s 99.9% fine silver coins sold out on Dec. 17, 2012. That meant U.S. Mint distributors had to wait three weeks to re-fill their inventories since the Mint said it would only begin taking orders for the new issues today, Jan. 7, 2013. As a result, opening day sales shot up to 3,937,000. The tally already surpasses every monthly total in 2012 except for January when sales hit 6,107,000.

Sales levels for other U.S. Mint bullion products are below.

Sales of US Mint American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Coins
  Monday Sales Last Week Week-To-Date Sales 2013 Sales
$50 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins 4,000 59,500 4,000 57,000
$25 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins 1,000 9,000 1,000 10,000
$10 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins 2,000 12,000 2,000 14,000
$5 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins 10,000 50,000 10,000 60,000
$50 American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coins 10,500 14,500 10,500 25,000
American Eagle Silver Coin* 3,937,000 N/A 3,937,000 3,937,000

 

America the Beautiful 5 Oz. Silver Bullion Coin Sales
  Monday Sales Last Week Week-To-Date Sales All-Time Sales
2012 El Yunque National Forest 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins 0 0 0 21,900
2012 Chaco Culture National Historical Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins 0 0 0 20,000
2012 Acadia National Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins 0 0 0 25,400
2012 Hawai’i Volcanoes 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins 0 0 0 20,000
2012 Denali National Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins 0 0 0 20,000
2011 Olympic National Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins 5,500 0 5,500 91,400
2011 Vicksburg National Military Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins 1,500 0 1,500 41,000
2011 Chickasaw Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins 1,500 0 1,500 31,200
TOTAL 8,500 0 8,500 270,900

 

Coin sales figures shown above are in the number of coins sold. Calculate total ounces by using the bullion coin’s weight.

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Boz

Huh?
How could there be sales of 2011 atb’s today? Are they still available to the authorized purchase crowd even though the P coins went off sale in December?

Zaz

They probably made the max of 126,700 ATB coins of each of the five in 2011, so there must be a huge stockpile pf Olympic, Vicksburg and Chickasaw. They only announced the stoppage of sales of some of the 2012 bullion since three of them sold out last month. To them silver is silver, regardless of design or the year stamped on them. As an incentive to move the 2011-dated coins they might’ve offered a tiny premium over spot to the APs.

bill

There are still some 2010 5oz ATB’s available at some AP’s. You will pay over $250 for one, but they are still available.

My favorite coins in my collection are the silver Kiwi’s from New Zealand. 5,000 or less every year. I have the 2007-2013 issues but the 2004-06 have quite the premium. Check out ebay for the 2004, 05 and 06… it will flip your lid! Ever pay over $500 for an ounce of silver? Me either.