The demand for Australian bullion contracted sharply for a second consecutive month in August, according to figures from The Perth Mint of Australia, with sales of both gold and silver products at the lowest point in 3-1/2 years.
The Perth Mint’s bullion sales were set against divided precious metals in August, with LBMA prices (USD) falling 1.4% for gold and rising 0.7% for silver.
Perth Mint Gold Bullion Sales in August 2023
In August, the combined sales of the Mint’s gold coins and gold bars reached 34,875 ounces, marking the lowest monthly total since February 2020 and reflecting drops of 20.8% from July and 59% from August 2022.
Moreover, year-to-date gold sales at 497,240 ounces are 25.8% lower than the 670,375 ounces sold during the same period last year.
Perth Mint Silver Bullion Sales in August 2023
In the month, the Mint recorded sales of 792,503 ounces for minted silver coins and bars, representing only the second time falling below a million since December 2020, with the first occurrence in July, and once again, the lowest monthly amount since February 2020. This shows declines of 8.2% from July and 52.1% from August 2022.
"The market for physical silver in Germany has been hit by the impact of a hike in VAT to 19% on non-EU silver bullion coins," said Neil Vance, General Manager Minted Products. "In the US, our distributors continue to report a slowdown in both gold and silver from the heightened levels of demand we experienced during the pandemic."
Year to date, the cumulative sales of silver from The Perth Mint amount to 11,352,119 ounces, indicating a 27.5% decrease compared to the 15,650,807 ounces sold in the corresponding period last year.
Monthly Perth Mint Gold and Silver Bullion Sales Since August 2022
Below is a monthly summary of Perth Mint bullion sales from August 2022 to August 2023. The figures show monthly ounces of gold and silver shipped as minted products by The Perth Mint to wholesale and retail customers worldwide. It excludes sales of cast bars and other Group activities including sales of allocated/unallocated precious metal for storage by the Depository.
| Perth Mint Bullion Sales (in troy ounces) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Silver | Gold | |
| August 2023 | 792,503 | 34,875 |
| July 2023 | 863,485 | 44,009 |
| June 2023 | 1,326,011 | 73,124 |
| May 2023 | 1,881,001 | 72,889 |
| April 2023 | 1,947,743 | 75,166 |
| March 2023 | 1,823,096 | 80,541 |
| February 2023 | 1,484,936 | 52,241 |
| January 2023 | 1,233,344 | 64,395 |
| December 2022 | 1,634,751 | 60,634 |
| November 2022 | 1,315,293 | 114,304 |
| October 2022 | 1,995,350 | 183,102 |
| September 2022 | 2,579,941 | 88,554 |
| August 2022 | 1,655,334 | 84,976 |
Demand is down, premiums are down, Eagles even have dropped premium…..pressure as Ag is stuck I. A rut v.Tbills 5%+
All I’ll say is God help anyone that is buying these coins on their CC’s and not paying off the balance in its entirety. Paying 20+% in interest is insane in this turbulent economy.
Kaiser, I agree about the wisdom of collecting precious metals as a hedge against inflation, but that only applies if one has excess funds available to acquire said precious metals. Unfortunately for most people living in this country, that currently is a huge problem and I’m not sure most of them even have a handle on how to protect themselves, financially speaking. It’s a mess out there so I’m not at all surprised to see a decline in precious metal coins being bought worldwide and especially here in the U.S.. I think we can all agree the Mints pricing for… Read more »
One must also consider higher money market and COD rates. Gold does not pay interest. No one cared about that when banks were paying less than one percent, but now one can actually make some money on their cash.
Right you are, Garry, and don’t forget T Bills paying over 5%! It feels like a lifetime ago where I’m able to hold cash in an account and get close to 5% interest every month. As they say, ‘I’m Lovin It’. You know, I guess I’m going to have to give credit to Biden after all. His policies may be destroying the U.S., but at least we’re getting higher interest rates on our money as a side benefit.
I look at it as a sale. Just stay within your budget. In the end you are wanting to exchange money for an asset like silver or gold