Weekly Market Recap 09/04/09

According to Stock Trader’s Almanac, September has continuously been the weakest month of the year for stocks since 1950. This year seems to be no exception as financial stocks were hammered early in the week. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) took over 45 banks in the first half of this year. That number jumped to 24 in July alone and another 15 were taken over in August. Now, the FDIC has over 400 banks on its troubled “watch” list, but projects 1,000 banks will fail before the economic crisis is through.

The volume in the stock markets was light this week due to traders not wanting to take many gambles over the long Labor Day weekend. But while the stock market dropped from its high on Tuesday, the precious metals markets saw strong gains, with gold briefly nearing the benchmark of $1,000.00 an ounce. On Thursday, Gold reached $998.00 per Troy Ounce during intraday trading. The fear of inflation from stimulus programs worldwide is now taking a larger foothold. The Labor Department further reinforced economic worries as it released reports on Friday stating the unemployment rate is at its highest point in 26 years.

This week, APMEX rolled out a promotion that allows customers an opportunity to win a round trip for two to Australia through a partnership with The Perth Mint. The 2010 “Year of the Tiger” bullion coins were offered at very attractive prices for this contest. The “Escape to Australia” contest runs through the end of the month, so visit APMEX.com today and register to win! In addition, the APMEX Sunshine Labor Day Sale offers never before offered 1oz. Sunshine Mint Silver Rounds as low as $0.59 over spot. The Labor Day Sale runs throughout the weekend, including Monday, while supplies last.

Gold:
Spot Gold prices opened this week at $956.10. The high during the week was on Thursday, September 3rd at $998.00, while the low for the week was on Monday, August 31st at $943.10. Gold ended the week with a gain of $40.00 at $996.10. This week 1 oz. Random Year Gold Krugerrands, 1 oz. Random Year Gold American Eagles and 1 gram APMEX Gold Bars were in very high demand.

Silver:
Spot Silver prices opened this week at $14.77. Silver reached a high of $16.36 on Friday September 3rd, while the low for silver was occurred on Monday August 31st, at $14.55. Silver ended the week with a gain of $1.50 at $16.27. This week 2009 – 1oz. Silver American Eagles, 1 oz. Silver Buffalo Rounds and 2009 – 1 oz. Silver Maple Leafs sold in very strong quantities.

Platinum:
Spot Platinum prices opened this week at $1247.90,and ended the week up $12.00 at $1259.90. Many investors continue to be keenly interested in platinum. 1 oz. Credit Suisse Platinum Bars, 2009 – 1oz. Platinum Canadian Maple Leafs and 1 oz. Brilliant Uncirculated Platinum American Eagles continue to lead the way as the products of choice with investors.

Palladium:
Spot Palladium prices opened this week at $291.45, and ended the week with a gain of $4.25 at $295.70. This week, the most popular of these products were (1 oz.) .999 Fine Pamp Suisse Palladium Bars, 2009 – 1oz. Palladium Canadian Maple Leafs and 10 oz. Pamp Suisse Palladium Bars were highly sought after this week.

Numismatics:
The unofficial end of summer is now upon us. So what do we have to look forward to now? Precious Metals prices have moved up as Gold rose to nearly $1,000.00 this week and silver has also climbed significantly. The metals are certainly taking a turn for the high road and APMEX is right there with you! Pre-1933 Gold, although it never lost much interest, has garnered a great deal of attention with $20 Saint-Gaudens Gold Coins and $20 Liberty Head Gold Coins leading the way. These coins are now worth even more with spot prices steadily rising! Silver also benefited from these rising spot prices. There is now a widespread resurgence in interest in the older silver coins, namely Barber Half Dollars, Barber Quarter Dollars, Washington Quarter Dollars and Mercury Dimes. All have had varied success in the past, but have really received significant interest since the spot silver price has risen over the last few weeks.

Additionally, as silver continues to climb, so does interest for Classic Silver Commemorative Half Dollars. This affordable series maintains its attractiveness to collector’s wallets even in both MS-65 and MS-66 grades and, occasionally, in MS-67 grade! As 2009 is the bi-centennial year of Lincoln’s birth, the 1918 Illinois-Lincoln Commemorative Half Dollar has seen a lot of interest and we are having trouble keeping them in stock! Common date average circulated classic silver commemoratives, such as the Columbian Exposition and the Booker T. Washington, have also been very difficult to keep in stock as the silver content is almost worth more than its numismatic value.