Market Recap 11/27/09

In this shortened trading week due to the Thanksgiving Holiday, the United States Mint announced that sales of the 2009 Gold and Silver American Eagle One Ounce coins have been temporarily suspended because of the unprecedented demand for bullion. The U.S. Mint plans to resume production and sales of the Gold and Silver American Eagle coin programs once sufficient inventories can be acquired.

The U.S. Dollar came under more pressure this week as the central bank for the tiny island of Mauritius became the third such bank to buy Gold in the past month. Mauritius bought 2 metric tons, worth $71.7 million dollars, from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). This purchase followed in the footsteps of the central banks of India and Sri Lanka. Additionally India’s central bank said it is open to buying more Gold from the IMF. Speculation that even more central banks could buy Gold has helped fuel Gold’s recent surge to almost $1,200.00 per ounce.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that nearly one in four U.S. borrowers owes more on their mortgage than their home is worth. The newspaper said almost 10.7 million households, or 23% of all mortgage holders, were "under water" in the third quarter. Another 5.3 million homeowners have mortgages that are 20% higher than the value of their homes, as prices have dropped significantly since the start of the recession. This is a bothersome sign that the housing market could be threatened by a new wave of defaults in the near future.

On Friday, Dubai World, the Emirate’s investment vehicle, was looking to suspend repayments on all or part of its $59 Billion debt to various world banks. This news lowered prices in both the precious metals and stock markets the day after the Thanksgiving Holiday, as investors looked to put their cash into safer havens. Historically, the stock market does not slump the day after Thanksgiving. In fact, between 1999 and 2008, the market has seen just two down days on the day after Thanksgiving. This news coupled with continued lower consumer sentiment and a 25-year high in the unemployment rate seemed to discourage talks of economic recovery.

APMEX hopes you had a Happy Thanksgiving and reminds you to keep an eye out for our 2nd Annual “12 Days of Christmas” sales event that begins on Monday, November 30th. You do not want to miss this great opportunity to save money on your favorite bullion and numismatic items this holiday season.

Gold:
Spot Gold prices opened this week at $1,152.00. The high during the week was on Wednesday, November 25th, at $1,192.80, while the low for the week was on Monday, November 23rd, at $1,151.60. Gold ended the week with a gain of $26.80 at $1,178.80. This week, 2009 1/10 oz. Gold American Eagles, 2009 1 oz. BU Gold American Eagles and 1 oz. .9999+ Fine Pamp Suisse Gold Bars were in great demand as Gold reached new all-time highs during the week!

Silver:
Spot Silver prices opened this week at $18.52. Silver reached a high of $18.93, on Monday, November 23rd. The low for Silver occurred on Friday, November 26th, at $17.90. Silver ended the week down $0.12 at $18.40. This week, 2009 1 oz. Silver American Eagles, 2010 1 oz. Canadian Silver Maple Leafs, Sunshine Mint 1 oz. .999 Fine Silver Rounds and 1 oz. .999 Fine Silver Buffalo Rounds remained very popular with Silver investors.

Platinum:
Spot Platinum prices opened this week at $1,445.60 and ended the week up $1.40, at $1,447.00. 1 oz. Pamp Suisse Platinum Bars, 1 oz. Credit Suisse Platinum Bars, 10 oz. Pamp Suisse Platinum Bars and 2009 1 oz. Platinum Canadian Maple Leafs were the most popular Platinum products at APMEX.com this week.

Palladium:
Spot Palladium prices opened this week at $365.50 and ended the week down $0.90 to $364.60. Popular Palladium products this week included 2009 1 oz. Palladium Maple Leafs, 1 oz. Pamp Suisse Palladium Bars and 10 oz. Pamp Suisse Palladium Bars.

Numismatics:
This Thanksgiving, precious metal investors certainly have a lot to be thankful for in the market. The spot price of Gold has not only surpassed the old record of $1,033.00 per ounce, it has utterly shattered it. On Wednesday, Gold reached yet another all-time high, surpassing the $1,190.00 mark as investors continue to buy the metal in hopes of hedging their portfolios against a weak U.S. Dollar. As we have said in weeks past, there have been a number of conservative analysts predicting that Gold will go up to $1,200.00, while the more aggressive analysts are predicting a $1,500.00 plateau or beyond. APMEX has seen a tremendous influx of traffic on our website due to this flurry of activity in the metals market. Even beyond bullion items, Pre-1933 U.S. Gold has been very much in demand by both the collector and investor.

We are also thankful for the movement in the spot price of Silver. As it was announced earlier this week, the U.S. Mint has sold out of its supply of 2009 Silver American Eagles. However, APMEX has a very limited supply left of those desirable items, and they will likely sell very quickly. APMEX also has a wide variety of numismatic items from which to choose. Cull Silver Dollars and Morgan Silver Dollars that grade Very Good to Very Fine are also selling very well.

Morgan Silver Dollars are one of the most popular coins of all time and for this, we will give thanks to this series by highlighting the first coin in this series: the 1878 8 Tailfeathers variety. The Mint would go on to create a 7/8 Tailfeather variety later, in error, as they were transitioning to the final die state of 7 Tailfeathers. that was used later in production. These error coins occurred when the master die was not engraved properly, allowing for parts of the 8 Tailfeathers to be visible.

Although this is a popular variety, it is relatively common and premiums are usually only applicable if the tips of all of the 8 Tailfeathers can be boldly seen. As a whole, most 8 Tailfeather coins are extremely well struck with above average luster. Though there is no known mintage, estimates are that nearly 750,000 were minted as they were only struck for a limited time, beginning in mid-March of that year. Many of these coins were stored in canvas bags for decades creating the beautiful toning that often commands high premiums. These coins were eventually paid out by the U.S. Treasury well into the 1950’s and early 1960’s. In fact, many of these coins were paid out by Las Vegas casinos because they loved to use Silver Dollars as payment in many of their slot machines.

Have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving!