Gold was marginally higher Wednesday but remains near its lowest level in almost three weeks as hopes that a U.S. military strike against Syria could be averted have led to reduced safe-haven demand.
The easing of geopolitical tensions in the Middle East has contributed to the recent weakness in gold but the deep fissures and significant tension between the U.S. and re-emerging superpower Russia is a geopolitical risk that is being underestimated for now.
Support is at $1,360/oz and below that support is at $1,320/oz and the lows in early August at $1,280/oz.
Silver Coin Demand Remains Robust
During the month of August 2013, gold bullion coin and bar sales at the Perth Mint of Australia declined to the lowest monthly level of the year. Silver bullion sales remained robust, far surpassing last year’s sales.
Sales of Perth Mint gold coins and minted products for August 2013 totalled 30,430.10 troy ounces. This amount represented a decline both from the prior month when 56,488.25 ounces were sold. However, compared to August last year, sales were not down as much – in August 2012 sales were 37,196.86.
For the year to date, gold sales have reached 492,543.27 ounces.
Perth Mint sales of silver coins and minted products reached 691,258.63 troy ounces during the month. This was down slightly from the prior month, but more than double the monthly sales from same period last year.
Source Coinupdate.com via Perth Mint
In August 2012, silver coin sales were 338,945.22 ounces. For 2013 to date, silver coin sales have reached more than 5 million ounces.
This month, sales will get another boost from the release of the new 2014 dated coins for the Australian Lunar series gold and silver coins and the Australian Kookaburra silver coins. We have already seen demand for the newly minted 2014 Kookaburra coins. Coin buyers are often eager to obtain the newly designed bullion coins, particularly those which are subject to limited mintages and can attract a collectors premium.
The decline in gold coin sales and robust silver coin demand was seen in other mints including the United States Mint, the Royal Canadian Mint and other mints during the month.
The Royal Canadian Mint last week reported a surge in revenue and profitability for the second quarter of 2013. Revenue increased by 93.8% to $1.05 billion and this represented the first time in the Mint’s history that quarterly revenue exceeded $1 billion.
The strong results were driven by a sharp increase in bullion demand. There was a 144% jump in Gold Maple Leaf Sales over the same period last year and a 60% surge in the the sale of Silver Maple Leaf coins to 6.4 million ounces from 4.0 million.
Silver Maple sales look like they may reach 24 million ounces in 2013, which will beat the sales of 18.1 million in 2012 and possibly the 23.1 million record seen in 2011.
Sales of the U.S. Mint’s popular American Gold Eagle bullion coins fell to a six year low, while silver bullion sales remained brisk. The drop in gold sales was attributed to seasonality and the fact that the price plummet in April had brought forward demand that may have happened in August.
Gold and silver coins, either in your possession or in allocated storage, will continue to protect and grow the wealth of those with a long term outlook.