Perth Mint s April Gold Sales Surge In Scramble For Safe Havens

By K. Sathya Narayanan and phượng hoàng cổ trấn Harshith Aranya May 1 (Reuters) - Australia's Perth Mint said its gold sales shot up in April to their highest level in at least eight years as concerns of a shortage prompted investors to stock up to seek cover from the economic blow from the coronavirus.
Sales of gold coins and minted bars in April rose to 120,504 ounces, the highest since at least March 2012, gaining 28.5% month-on-month and 502.8% higher than the same period last year, the refiner said in a blog post on Friday. Sales of silver coins in April jumped 22.3% from March, and rose 134.3% from the same period last year, to 2,123,121 ounces, kynghidongduong.vn its highest since September 2015.

"While the trigger for this demand is shortage of physical supply of bullion coins due to logistical issues, investors are scrambling to hoard more physical gold. This is very well evident in rallying premiums for gold coins," said ANZ analyst Soni Kumari.
Benchmark gold prices jumped 6.9% in April while silver rose 7.5%, with both precious metals marking their best month in eight. Spot prices of gold, considered a safe store of value during times of economic or political uncertainties, have risen more than 10% this year, trương gia giới although sharp selloffs in wider markets have, on occasion, triggered falls in bullion as investors sold precious metals for cash and to cover losses elsewhere.

"The particular factors driving demand amid COVID are the theories of metal shortages fuelled by refineries closing down, so everyone is concerned about a potential physical metal squeeze," Perth Mint's CEO Richard Hayes said in an emailed response to queries from Reuters.
"There is plenty of metal around, it's just not in the place people expect it or necessarily in the form they may want it." The Perth Mint, owned by the government of Western Australia, refines more than 90% of newly mined gold in Australia, one of the world's top gold producers.

The mint was able to continue operations while other major refineries and mints closed or reduced operations due to the pandemic, The Perth Mint Group Manager, Minted Products, Neil Vance said. Period Gold (oz) Silver (oz) (year-month) 2020-April 120,504 2,123,121 2020-March 93,775 1,736,409 2020-Feb 22,921 605,634 2020-Jan 48,299 1,450,317 2019-Dec 78,912 1,361,723 2019-Nov 54,261 1,027,695 2019-Oct 32,469 1,394,615 2019-Sept 46,837 1,350,038 2019-Aug 21,766 1,171,233 2019-July 21,518 987,040 2019-June 19,449 344,474 2019-May 10,790 681,582 2019-April 19,991 906,219 2019-March 32,757 935,819 2019-Feb 19,524 584,310 2019-Jan 31,189 828,854 2018-Dec 29,186 692,971 2018-Nov 64,308 876,446 2018-Oct 36,840 1,079,684 2018-Sept 62,552 1,305,600 2018-Aug 38,904 520,245 2018-July 29,921 486,821 2018-June 16,847 229,280 2018-May 14,800 557,120 2018-April 15,161 458,655 2018-March 29,883 975,921 2018-Feb 26,473 992,954 2018-Jan 37,174 1,067,361 2017-Dec 27,009 874,437 2017-Nov 23,901 544,436 2017-Oct 44,618 999,425 2017-Sept 46,415 697,849 2017-Aug 23,130 392,091 2017-July 23,675 1,167,963 2017-June 19,259 1,215,071 2017-May 29,679 826,656 2017-April 10,490 468,977 2017-March 22,232 716,283 2017-Feb 25,257 502,353 2017-Jan 72,745 1,230,867 2016-Dec 63,420 430,009 2016-Nov 54,747 984,622 2016-Oct 79,048 1,084,213 2016-Sept 58,811 1,031,858 2016-Aug 14,684 376,461 2016-July 16,870 693,447 2016-June 31,368 1,220,817 2016-May 21,035 974,865 2016-April 47,542 1,161,766 2016-March 47,948 1,756,238 2016-Feb 37,063 1,049,062 2016-Jan 47,759 1,473,408 (Reporting by Harshith Aranya in Bengaluru; Editing by Susan Fenton)