Gold, Silver Coin Sales Down On Monthly, Yearly Basis

New York (Apr 22)  Although gold prices appear to be stabilizing around $1,200 an ounce, analysts at Barclays noted in a research note Monday that investor demand in the form of bullion coins has been lackluster in April.Gold-silver-coins.jpg

“Following the surge in retail interest in March, coin sales, as reported by the U.S. Mint, have slowed in April. [S]ales are running at a similar pace to February’s subdued activity,” they said.

According to sales data as of Tuesday, the U.S. Mint has sold 34,000 ounces of gold in various denominations of American Eagle and Buffalo bullion coins so far this month, down almost 64%, compared to 94,500 ounces sold in April 2014.

On a monthly basis, sales are down almost 67% compared to 102,000 ounces sold in March. So far this year, the mint has sold 370,500 ounces of gold, compared to 447,000 ounces sold during the first four months of 2014.

Silver coin sales at the mint are also down on a monthly and yearly basis. According to the sales data, the mint has sold more than 1.9 million one-ounce American Eagle silver coins so far this month, down more than 46%, compared to 3.57 million silver coins sold in April 2014. On a monthly basis, silver coins sales are also down 46%.

This is the third consecutive month that silver sales have been lower on a yearly basis. Only January saw sales higher compared to 2014. So far this year, the U.S. mint has sold 13.97 million silver coins, down from 17.45 million coins sold in the first four months of 2014.

Soiurce: KitcoNews