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Gold, Silver, Platinum, Palladium 2010 Second Quarter Performance

July 1, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Although gold and silver are experiencing a sharp decline today, they recorded strong performance during the second quarter of 2010. Platinum and palladium both posted declines for second quarter, but maintain gains for the year to date.

The table below shows the last London Fix Price of 2009 for each metal and the last price for June 30, 2010 followed by the percentage gain or loss for the 2010 Second Quarter and the Year to Date performance.

2009 Close June 30, 2010 Close 2nd Quarter YTD
Gold $ 1,087.50 $ 1,244.00 11.52% 14.39%
Silver $ 16.99 $ 18.74 7.09% 10.30%
Platinum $ 1,461.00 $ 1,532.00 -6.87% 4.86%
Palladium $ 393.00 $ 446.00 -6.89% 13.49%

Gold recorded the largest gain for the most recent quarter with an increase of 11.52%. It is also showing the strong performance out of the four metals for the year to date, up 14.39%. During 2009, the other three metals had outperformed gold by wide margins.

Silver posted a gain of 7.09% for the quarter and is up 10.30% for the year to date. Notably, silver has now posted a gain for the past six consecutive quarters. This represents the longest quarterly winning streak which took place through the beginning of 1980 when silver had eleven consecutive quarters of gains.

Platinum and palladium showed declines of 6.87% and 6.89% for the quarter. Year to date numbers remain positive at 4.86% and 13.49%.

Filed Under: Gold, palladium, Platinum, Silver Tagged With: , , , ,

Measuring Declines from the High- Gold, Silver, Platinum, Palladium

February 9, 2010 by 3 Comments

For the past few weeks, precious metals have undergone significant, rapid declines. This follows a year of banner performance during 2009. I wanted to take a post to briefly examine the extent of the declines for gold, silver, platinum, and palladium.

Roughly two months ago, gold had reached a new all time high and silver had reached its highest level going back about twenty months. Less than three weeks ago, platinum and palladium had reached their highest levels in about sixteen months.

The figures below show the recent high compared to the recent low and the extent of the decline. All figures are London PM Fix.

Gold

Recent High: $1,212.50 (December 2, 2009)
Recent Low: $1,058.00 (February 5, 2010)
Decline: -$154.50 (-12.74%)

Silver

Recent High: $19.18 (December 2, 2009)
Recent Low: $15.14 (February 8, 2010)
Decline: -$4.04 (-21.06%)

Platinum

Recent High: $1,627.00 (January 20, 2010)
Recent Low: $1,475.00 (February 5, 2010)
Decline: -$152.00 (-9.34%)

Palladium

Recent High: $462.00 (January 21, 2010)
Recent Low: $395.00 (February 5, 2010)
Decline: -$67.00 (-14.50%)

Filed Under: Gold, palladium, Platinum, Silver Tagged With: , , ,

US Mint Accepts Orders for 2010 Gold and Silver Eagles

January 19, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Today the US Mint began accepting orders from authorized purchasers for the 2010 Gold and Silver Eagle bullion coins. The initial ordering date this year comes a bit later than usual and carries some special stipulations.

Only a select group of authorized purchasers are able to buy the bullion coins directly from the United States Mint. These APs then resell the coins to other dealers and the public, as well as facilitate a two-way market for the coins.

Usually Gold and Silver Eagles bearing the following year’s date are produced in November and December of the preceding year. This allows the US Mint to build an inventory of newly dated coins, accept orders from authorized purchasers in mid December, and deliver the coins in early January. This year, production of 2009 dated coins continued to year-end, pushing back the availability of the new coins.

The 2010 Gold Eagles will have a special ordering requirement. As of January 13, 2010, the US Mint had a remaining inventory of 51,000 of the one ounce 2009 Gold Eagles. As long as this inventory remains, authorized purchasers will be required to order Gold Eagles on a “3-to-1 basis.” This means that for every three 2010 Gold Eagles ordered, they must also order one 2009 Gold Eagle. Only one ounce coins will be available.

Both 2010 Gold and Silver Eagles will continue to be subject to the US Mint’s allocation program. This program rations the maximum number of coins that authorized purchasers can buy.


Filed Under: Gold, Silver, US Mint Tagged With: ,

2009 Precious Metals Performance: Gold, Silver, Platinum, Palladium

January 6, 2010 by 3 Comments

Precious metals delivered a strong performance during 2009 with strong returns across the major categories of gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. Although gold seemed to dominate the attention of the mainstream press, the annual performance figures reveal that it was outperformed by other precious metals.

The table below displays the last price of 2008 from Kitco’s historical charts and the last price of 2009. The change and percentage change are computed below.

2009 Precious Metals Performance

Gold Silver Platinum Palladium
Last 2008 Price 869.75 10.79 898.00 183.00
Last 2009 Price 1,087.50 16.99 1,461.00 393.00
Change 217.75 6.20 563.00 210.00
Percentage Change 25.04% 57.46% 62.69% 114.75%

As seen above the surprising winner for the year was palladium, which delivered a return of 114.75%. This was followed by platinum with 62,69%, silver with a gain of 57.46%, and lastly gold with a gain of 25.04% recorded.

In some respects the out performance of palladium, platinum, and silver are simply making up for ground that was lost during 2008 (2008 Precious Metals Performance). Last year palladium had fallen by nearly 50%, platinum by about 40%, and silver by 26%. During the same period, gold recorded a small gain of 4.32%.

One of the recent characteristics of gold has been its steady upward march, defying panics in other asset classes, and general declines in commodities. This year marks gold’s ninth annual gain, which has brought the price of gold 291% higher from the end of 2000 until the end of 2009.

Filed Under: palladium, Platinum, Silver Tagged With: , , ,

2010 Silver Eagles Arrive Late

December 28, 2009 by 3 Comments

Usually, the United States Mint will begin production of the American Silver Eagle bullion coins bearing the following year’s date in late November or early December. This allows the US Mint to begin accepting orders in December for delivery of the coins in early January. This system has allowed bullion and coin dealers to get a jump on the demand for newly dated coins.

This year, the 2010 dated American Silver Eagles will be arriving a bit later. The US Mint recently announced that they would begin taking orders from authorized purchasers on January 19, 2010.

This is the latest in a number of changes to normal procedures for United States Mint precious metals coin offerings that began in 2008. Back then the first of many sales suspensions was put into place first for Silver Eagles and later for Gold Eagles and Gold Buffalo coins. The suspensions were generally followed by availability of coins under a rationing program.

Eventually, the collector versions of the Gold and Silver Eagles were impacted when the US Mint began sourcing precious metals blanks exclusively to the production of bullion coins. The 2008 Proof Silver Eagle sold out very early in the year, never to return. The 2009 collectible Gold and Silver Eagle offerings were canceled.

The delay of 2010 Silver Eagle coins seems to indicate that the US Mint may be falling even further behind the curve on fulfilling public demand. As it stands, the silver bullion coins are fresh off of a recent suspension and reimplemented rationing program.


Filed Under: Silver, US Mint Tagged With: ,

2009-W Uncirculated Silver Eagles Canceled

October 7, 2009 by Leave a Comment

Continuing coverage of the fallout from yesterday’s US Mint announcement, the 2009-W Uncirculated Silver Eagle has been canceled. The 2009 Annual Uncirculated Dollar Coin Set, which would have contained this coin has similarly been canceled.

These represent coins which are typically produced for collectors as opposed to the bullion coins produced primarily for precious metals investors. The uncirculated collector versions of the coin have been produced since 2006, when similar offerings were also introduced for Gold Eagles and Platinum Eagles. The coins can most easily be differentiated from the bullion coins by the “W” mint mark on the reverse of the coins. Bullion coins do not have a mint mark. The collector coins are sometimes referred to as “Burnished Silver Eagles” since they are struck on specially burnished blanks.

The collector coins are also sold directly by the United States Mint in special packaging at fixed prices which represented a generally higher premium above the value of the silver content. By contrast, the bullion coins are sold through the US Mint’s network of authorized bullion dealers. These dealers can purchase the coins for the spot value of silver plus a small mark up, and then resell the coins to other precious metals dealers or the public.

While not as popular as the Proof Silver Eagles, the Uncirculated Silver Eagles did sell a fair amount of coins and had begun to acquire a collector base. According to Silver Eagle Guide, the US Mint sold approximately 470,000 of the coins in 2006, followed by 653,878 in 2007, and 517,967 in 2008. The 2008 Uncirculated Silver Eagles still remain available for sale at the US Mint as part of the 2007 Annual Uncirculated Dollar Coin Set.

The US Mint had actually offered the coins through their subscription program, which automatically ships and charges customers for the coins when they are released. The US Mint sent the following message to subscribers to inform them that they would not receive the coins for 2009:

Dear United States Mint Customer,

Production of the United States Mint American Eagle Silver Proof and Uncirculated Coins was suspended this year because of unprecedented demand for American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins. All available silver bullion blanks are being allocated to the American Eagle Silver Bullion Coin Program, as the United States Mint is required by Public Law 99-61 to produce these coins “in quantities sufficient to meet public demand …”

The United States Mint will resume the American Eagle Silver Proof and Uncirculated Coin Programs once sufficient inventories of silver bullion blanks can be acquired to meet market demand for all three American Eagle Silver Coin products. However, due to the continued, sustained demand for American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins, 2009-dated American Eagle Silver Proof and Uncirculated Coins will not be produced.

You do not need to re-subscribe to the 2010 American Eagle Silver Proof and Uncirculated Coin Programs. Prices may change during the course of your subscription. Should the price change for the 2010 coins, the new prices will be listed on your 30-day pre-fulfillment notification.

Please review your notification carefully.

Based on the US Mint’s statements, they will attempt to revive the offering with the 2010 Silver Eagle, but collectors will be left with an unfortunate gap in their collections.

Filed Under: Silver, US Mint Tagged With: ,

2009 Proof Silver Eagle Canceled

October 7, 2009 by Leave a Comment

Yesterday, some very significant news broke which put to rest long standing speculation about the status of some of the United States Mint’s bullion and collector coin product offerings. Essentially, the United States Mint canceled all collectible 2009 Gold and Silver Eagle Coins, but announced the limited production of collectible proof 2009 Platinum Eagles and Gold Buffalo Coins, as well as bullion fractional Gold Eagles and one ounce Gold Buffalo coins. I will be breaking this announcement down into several posts over the next few days.

The United States Mint has offered Proof Silver Eagles since their bullion counterparts were first released in 1986. This coin has become a modern favorite for collectors and has been one of the US Mint’s core numismatic product offerings.

Last year, the US Mint was forced to end sales of the 2008 Proof Silver Eagle coin around August 2008. The coins are typically available through the end of the year and have been a highlight of the US Mint’s holiday gift offerings. The unannounced and unexplained unavailability of the coins was later revealed to be related to the “unprecedented demand” for silver bullion products.

Under law the United States Mint is required to produce American Silver Eagle bullion coins in quantities sufficient to meet public demand. During 2008, higher demand taxed the resources of the US Mint and they had been forced to briefly suspend sales and subsequently impose a rationing program which limited coin sales at the dealer level.

As long as the US Mint was unable to meet full public demand for bullion coins, they believed it was their requirement by law to source all incoming silver blanks to the production of bullion coins and suspend production of collector coins.

The situation continued into the following year, but seemed to be abating when the US Mint finally lifted bullion coin rationing programs in June. Since this time, the US Mint has apparently been unable to build up enough inventory of silver blanks to produce collector coins.

The announcement marks a tremendous disappointment for collectors who have been assembling the Proof Silver Eagle series since 1986. There will now be a gap in the collection of at least one year. The US Mint states that they will attempt to obtain a greater supply of silver bullion blanks so production of collector coins can resume with the 2010 Silver Eagles.

Filed Under: Silver, US Mint Tagged With: ,

Gold, Silver & Platinum 2009 Second Quarter Performance

July 3, 2009 by Leave a Comment

With the second quarter behind us, let’s take a look at the performance of gold, silver, and platinum for the second quarter of 2009 and year to date.

All of the metals posted gains, but at single digit levels. The best performer for the second quarter was silver with a gain of 6.33%, followed by platinum with a gain of 5.52%, and then gold with a gain of 1.96%. The closing numbers don’t tell the full story. At the beginning of June, precious metals prices had spiked. At this recent peak, silver had been up as much as 22% for the quarter. Platinum and gold were also showing heftier gains at this time.

2009 Second Quarter Gold, Silver, and Platinum Performance
31-Mar-09 30-Jun-09 Change Percent
Gold 916.5 934.50 18.00 1.96%
Silver 13.11 13.94 0.83 6.33%
Platinum 1,124.00 1186.00 62.00 5.52%

On a year to date basis, the top precious metal performer remains as platinum with a gain of 32.07% on the year. This is followed by silver with a gain of 29.19% and gold with a gain of 7.44%. The performance of the metals had lined up in the same manner at the close of the first quarter.

2009 YTD Gold, Silver, and Platinum Performance
30-Dec-08 30-Jun-09 Change Percent
Gold 869.75 934.50 64.75 7.44%
Silver 10.79 13.94 3.15 29.19%
Platinum 898.00 1186.00 288 32.07%
Filed Under: Gold, Platinum, Silver Tagged With: , , ,

US Mint Gold and Silver Rationing Ends

June 17, 2009 by Leave a Comment

The United States Mint unceremoniously ended the allocation programs which had been limiting the number of Gold and Silver Eagle bullion coins that authorized purchasers could order. The announcement came in the form of a memorandum sent to authorized purchasers on Monday.

June 15, 2009

MEMORANDUM TO ALL AMERICAN EAGLE GOLD AND SILVER BULLION
AUTHORIZED PURCHASERS

SUBJECT: American Eagle Gold and Silver One Ounce Bullion Coin Allocations

Effective immediately, the United States is lifting the allocation process.

You may place your orders under the standard ordering procedures. The ordering minimum and incremental quantities apply.

Thank you for your patience during this past year. We appreciate your continued support.

Amidst high demand for precious metals and a constrained supply of precious metals blanks, the US Mint had implemented allocation programs for Gold and Silver Eagle bullion coins. The allocation program for the American Silver Eagle began on April 21, 2008 when the price of silver was $17.88 per ounce. The allocation program for American Gold Eagle began on August 15, 2008 when the price of gold was $786.50.

The United States Mint had also taken other measures to deal the physical precious metals shortage. First, they had restricted production to only one ounce gold and one ounce silver bullion coin options. Typically a range of fractional bullion coins including 1/2 ounce, 1/4 ounce, and 1/10 ounce coins is offered. Second, they had announced the temporary delay of production for platinum bullion coins and 24 karat Gold Buffalo coins. Third, they delayed the production of gold and silver coins produced for collectors in order to divert all precious metals blanks to the production of bullion coins.

The US Mint has not announced whether production fractional bullion coins, 24 karat gold bullion coins, platinum bullion coins, and gold and silver collector coins has resumed.

Filed Under: Gold, Silver, US Mint Tagged With: , ,

Gold and Silver Eagle Shortage Becomes Surplus

May 27, 2009 by 1 Comment

For countless months, authorized purchasers of US Mint gold and bullion coins have been subject to a rationing process, which limited the number of coins they could purchase. The rationing program had been put into place after the demand for gold and silver coins exceeded the US Mint’s ability to supply them. In a few recent posts I have provided some indications that the shortage of American Silver Eagles and American Gold Eagles might be ending. There’s yet another indication that the end of the shortage and rationing is close at hand.

Throughout the rationing period, the entire supply of coins available from the US Mint had been divvied up and sold to the authorized purchasers. For the first time since rationing began, the US Mint failed to sell their total production of Gold and Silver Eagles.

Dave Harper, the editor of Numismatic News, writes:

In the prior two weeks, the 14 purchasers authorized to buy the American Eagle coins from the U.S. Mint have not taken the maximum number of coins that are available, leaving the Mint with an extra 39,000 one-ounce gold American Eagles and 185,000 extra silver American Eagles.

To my knowledge, the rationing program for Gold and Silver Eagles still remains in place despite the surplus of recent weeks. The US Mint is likely waiting to build an inventory of bullion before attempting to remove purchasing restrictions completely.

When the rationing program was instated by the US Mint, it generated a lot of attention from blogs and news sites. The rationing was cited as evidence of the overwhelming demand for physical precious metals that would eventually carry market prices higher. With the opposite situation developing, opposite predictions have emerged.

In befuddlement to both arguments, the the disconnect between physical demand and market price continues. Amidst the unraveling of the physical scarcity situation, the prices for gold and silver have risen to multi-month highs with many predicting impending breakouts, which will carry prices even higher.

Filed Under: Gold, Silver Tagged With: , ,