Subscribe to The MasterBlog by Email
Haven-seeking Europeans buy physical gold
The Perth Mint has doubled capacity, while the Rand Refinery has experienced its highest sales in 25 years, all due to European investors seeking a haven in gold.
Author: Dorothy KosichPosted: Monday , 07 Jun 2010
RENO, NV -
The European debt crisis spurred physical gold sales on two continents this past week, as the latest U.S. Mint gold bullion coin went on sale at the open price of US$1,510.
Production of South African's Krugerrand gold coins soared by 50% to 30,000 ounces a week, the Rand Refinery said.
The Perth Mint in Australia said European buyers have accounted for 69% of new gold purchases.
In an interview with Reuters, Debra Thomson, the Rand Refinery treasurer, said, "Basically the sovereign debt crisis in Europe is behind this. There is a lot of demand especially from Germany; people are looking for gold."
Meanwhile the Perth Mint in Australia reported gold sales to Europe have soared. In an interview with Bloomberg News, Ron Currie, sales and marketing director for the Perth Mint, said European buyers accounted for 69% of gold-coin purchases last month compared to 51% a year ago.
"As soon as it was announced that the European Commission was bailing out Greece, the German population decided they'd better hedge their euros by buying precious metals," he added. "We had stock before this blip in the market, then it all went."
Controlled by the Western Australian government, the Perth Mint had doubled capacity in this past 18 months.
U.S. MINT INTRODUCES 2010 AMERICAN BUFFALO
In the meantime, the collector's version of the American Buffalo bullion coin went on sale this past week at an opening price of $1,510.
The bullion version of the coin was released April 29th and has sold 135,000 one-ounce coins so far.
As of Sunday, the U.S. Mint reported 542,000 ounces in gold bullion sales, including 20,500 ounces sold since June 1st.
The 2010 American Buffalo Gold Proof Coin can be ordered directly from the U.S. Mint.
Sales of this year's proof coin occurred much earlier than last year when the 2009 Proof Gold Buffalo was not offered for sale until October 29, 2009. Within five months, last year's proof coin was sold out with a total of 49,388 coins.
________________________The MasterBlog
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment
Commented on The MasterBlog