Nothing has happened over the weekend.

Nothing has happened over the weekend. The world is expecting easing out of Europe and Japan with lower interest rates in China the investment money looks for better returns. At this juncture those returns are found in US dollar based investments. This keeps the US dollar in a strong position and maintains downward pressure on gold and silver in the face of bullish indicators. Platinum and palladium are also under the  same pressure and technically they look oversold. Yet for the bulls to see an upward momentum to push these markets out of the doldrums it will take a significantly powerful catalyst. No US data today of real import, GDP tomorrow and Durable Goods report on Wednesday. Expect this week to be very quiet ahead of Thanksgiving day holiday in the USA.

Gold took off this morning booming over 1200 on the news of the dissolution Japan’s lower house of Parliament

Gold took off this morning booming over 1200 on the news of the dissolution Japan’s lower house of Parliament by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.  The shock of yesterday’s slip into recession by one of the largest economies in the world shocked the Prime Minister as much a s the world. His actions indicate that he is gathering support to continue the country’s easing policies which was the wind behind the sale of the precious metals markets this morning. Unfortunately for gold longs, the yellow metal was not able to hold above the 1200, after a positive Economic Sentiment report in Europe was much higher than expected, which does not bode well for higher prices. The metals though holding ground of late does not seem to have enough strength to enter its former charge to the upside any time soon. Bank of Japan’s rate decision is not expected to surprise overnight. Tomorrow’s FOMC report is the next news to watch.

The precious metals market continues to be very quiet

The precious metals market continues to be very quiet. Even with the Russian/Ukraine conflict news making headlines again it appears unlikely that the market will be stirred out of its doldrums. The Chinese Industrial production number came out less than expected indicating a bit of a slowdown but this number is not enough to directly affect the precious metals markets. Today’s US jobs data were close to expectations making no waves. Tomorrow’s EU Gross Domestic Product and the US Retail Sales numbers should give better direction.

U.S. Mint Sells out of 2014 Silver Eagles

 

The United States Mint has announced  that due to the tremendous demand  they  have temporarily sold out of  American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins. “We continue to produce 2014-dated coins and will advise you when additional inventory will be available for sale."  Said Michael White.  The Royal Canadian Mint made a similar statement last week regarding their one ounce Maple Leaf coins. The current shortage in the market will most likely lead to higher premiums. Higher premiums and product shipment delays often leads to a pick up in the sale of Silver Bullion Rounds, which have lower premiums and faster delivery.

 

Privately minted silver coins are commonly called "silver rounds" or "generic silver rounds". These coins usually have a set weight of 1 troy ounce of silver (31.103 grams of 99.9% silver). These carry all sorts of designs, from assayer/mine backed bullion to engravable gifts, automobiles, firearms, armed forces commemorative, holidays, etc.

Some hard money enthusiasts use .999 fine silver rounds as a store of value. A cross between bars and coins, silver rounds are produced by a huge array of mints, generally contain a troy ounce of silver in the shape of a coin, but have no status as legal tender. Rounds can be ordered with a custom design stamped on the faces or in assorted batches.

American Silver Eagle Bullion Sales Surge on Lower Metal Prices

American Silver Eagle Bullion Sales Surge on Lower Metal Prices

2014 Silver Eagle Sales Surge 87.6% Compared to Year Ago Period!

With silver trading at its lowest price in four years, buyers are snapping up large quantities of the 2014 Silver Eagles. Sales were up 87.6% over the same period last year. In October the U.S. Mint sold 5,790,000, their highest monthly total for almost two years. Total sales for the year now stand at 38,041,000.