Gold reached an All-Time High as it broke the $1,100.00 an ounce threshold when the U.S. Labor Department announced the overall jobless rate had jumped to 10.2%! A total of 7.3 Million jobs have been lost since the recession began in December of 2007. Those 7.3 Million jobs equate to one in every 20 private sector positions being eliminated. Nearly 2 Million Americans are scheduled to lose their unemployment benefits by the end of the year.
This rise in the price of Gold came on the heels of another large gain this week when the Reserve Bank of India made the largest single gold purchase in the past 30 years. India purchased $6.7 Billion Dollars of Gold (200 Metric Tons) from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The transaction is equivalent to 8% of the world’s annual mining production. India’s purchase is half of a planned purchase with the IMF and it surprised traders who expected China to be the most likely buyer. According to Reuters, India is the tenth largest holder of Gold amongst the central banks.
The Federal Reserve agreed to leave its key interest rates alone this week, stating that the economic recovery is still too tentative and needs help. The central bank’s interest rate is important because it is the foundation for which most U.S. interest rates are set. The Fed also highlighted four main issues that are troublesome: continuing job losses, sluggish incomes, a weak housing market and very tight credit.
The Federal Reserve agreed to leave its key interest rates alone this week, stating that the economic recovery is still too tentative and needs help. The central bank’s interest rate is important because it is the foundation for which most U.S. interest rates are set. The Fed also highlighted four main issues that are troublesome: continuing job losses, sluggish incomes, a weak housing market and very tight credit.
Needless to say, the Gold inventory at APMEX is large, but items are selling very quickly based on all of this news. If you are considering adding additional Gold to your position, you may want to do it now.
Gold:
Spot Gold prices opened this week at $1,057.90. The high during the week was on Friday, November 6th, at $1,102.30, while the low for the week was on Monday, November 2nd, at $1,053.30. Gold ended the week with a gain of $40.60 at $1,098.50. This week, 2009 1/10 oz. Gold American Eagles, 2009 1 oz. BU Gold American Eagles and 2009 1 oz. Gold Canadian Maple Leafs were in high demand due to media coverage on Gold throughout the week.Silver:
Spot Silver prices opened this week at $16.51. Silver reached a high of $17.64, on Friday, November 6th. The low for silver occurred on Monday, November 2nd at $16.27. Silver ended the week up $0.91 at $17.42. 2009 1 oz. Silver American Eagles, 2010 1 oz. Canadian Silver Maple Leafs, 1 oz. .999 Fine Sunshine Minting Silver Rounds and 1 oz. .999 Fine Silver Buffalo Rounds were very strong sellers on the APMEX website.Platinum:
Spot Platinum prices opened this week at $1,325.10, and ended the week up $25.70 at $1,350.80. Popular platinum products for this week included 1 oz. Pamp Suisse Platinum Bars, 2009 1 oz. Platinum Canadian Maple Leafs, and 10 oz. Pamp Suisse Platinum Bars.Palladium:
Spot Palladium prices opened this week at $322.50, and ended the week up $10.30 at $332.80. 2009 1 oz. Palladium Maple Leafs, 1 oz. Pamp Suisse Palladium Bars and 10 oz. Pamp Suisse Palladium Bars are quite popular with palladium investors.Numismatics:
APMEX’s Numismatic Closeout sale is in full swing! Over 20,000 items have already been sold, however, there are still many great deals to be had. Not surprisingly, Morgan and Peace Silver Dollar VAM’s have been extremely popular. From the minor varieties to the major rarities, these coins have all been selling quickly across the board. To refresh your memory on VAM’s click here to read our blog post from a few weeks ago. In addition to VAM Silver Dollars being in high demand, Bulk Silver Dollars have been selling exceptionally fast. Alluding to yet another past blog post, Carson City Morgan Silver Dollars have also been selling well. No matter the grading service or the grade, Carson City Silver Dollars continue to capture the eyes of the collectors.This week APMEX will feature another coin that came from the Carson City Mint. As most coin collectors know, Carson City coins often command hefty premiums. 1893 is the final year Morgan Silver Dollars were minted in Carson City. As this was the final year, there is much love and affection given to this particular coin. Many of these particular coins are heavily bagmarked. Most Mint State examples are on the low end of the Mint State scale, grading mostly MS-61 or MS-62. 1893-CC’s that grade higher than MS-63 are few and far between. To find a specimen with little or no bagmarks is an even tougher feat, and that will always come with an even greater premium. Most 1893-CC’s are in circulated condition and will fit nicely in any set. Many of these coins sat in Mint bags for 6 years until the Carson City Mint officially closed its doors and the remaining bags were shipped off to San Francisco and/or Washington D.C. where these bags, over time, were paid out to banks well into the 1920’s. With a mintage of only 677,000, this coin will always be high on a Morgan Silver Dollar collector’s want list.
