Gold and Silver Eagle Sales Surged in September
We’ve been saying gold and silver are on sale. Well, it appears investors are taking advantage of the bargain.
The sale of American Gold Eagle coins surged in September, according to the latest data from the US Mint. Investors snapped up 60,500 ounces of Gold Eagle bullion coins in various denominations. That compares with just 35,500 ounces in August — a 41% increase.
This also represents a healthy year-on-year increase. The US Mint sold just 36,000 ounces of American Gold Eagles in September 2017.
American Silver Eagle sales were also up in September. The mint sold 2,897,500 one-ounce silver bullion coins. That compares with 1,530,000 ounces in August. It was the best month for silver sales at the mint since last January.
Annually, silver sales were up 89% compared with September 2017. In fact, American Silver Eagle sales were so brisk last month the US Mint temporarily sold out. “This is to inform you that due to recent increased demand, the United States Mint has temporarily sold out of its inventories of 2018 American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins,” the Mint said in a press release Sept. 6.
The surge in precious metals sales at the US Mint follows on the heels of a strong August at Australia’s Perth Mint. Sales of gold coins and minted bars jumped 30% to 38,904 ounces. It was the strongest month of gold sales since November 2017 at the Australian mint. Sales were nearly doubled from August 2017, according to the mint.
Gold and silver prices have both been pushed lower in recent months due to a strong dollar. Nevertheless, there has been some recent mainstream bullishness on the yellow metal. As a Barron’s article proclaimed, “Gold is cheap. Inflation is coming. You do the math.”
The Barron’s writer insists gold has gotten a bad rap, and “this out-of-favor asset class now deserves a place in investment portfolios.”
Compared with stocks and other financial assets, gold looks inexpensive. More important, inflation is starting to pick up in the US and in much of the world as central banks shrink their enormous balance sheets. And gold has represented a good defense against inflation eroding the value of a stock or bond portfolio. Over time, it has held its value against the dollar. Gold was $20.67 an ounce 100 years ago and that bought a good men’s suit. At $1,200 an ounce, the same is true today.”
Sales at the US Mint indicate some North American investors are starting to pick up on this and they are buying some gold. The bottom line is that these low gold and silver prices aren’t going to last forever. Now may well be the best time to buy gold while it’s still on sale.
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