Market Recap 2/12/10

Stock prices were weak in the U.S. on Friday, after a surprise move by China to restrict bank lending to cool its surging economy. This action by the Chinese government “weighed down many commodity prices,” reported Reuters. Markets were also pressured by weaker-than-expected reads on U.S. consumer sentiment and business inventories, brushing aside a higher-than-forecast figure on January U.S. retail sales, which rose 0.5 percent. Also this week, The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed below 10,000 for the first time since November 2009.

The Wall Street Journal reported this week that, “Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will begin laying the groundwork for credit tightening later in the year, bringing to a close a period of historically low interest rates that have made it easier for ailing banks to book big profits.” Market participants also kept a close eye on financial instability in Europe, where issues surrounding the creditworthiness of several countries, particularly Greece, have recently surfaced.

“More than 2 million of the jobs that were erased from the economy over the past two years are probably gone for good,” says MSN Money. Does all of this economic uncertainty bode well for the Precious Metals markets over the next few months? Some analysts, like Scotiabank’s Patricia Mohr, seem to think so as she continues to believe that gold will test the $1,300.00 per ounce price level again.

The “I Heart APMEX” Video Contest remained popular this week and brought in dozens more entries from around the country. APMEX fans have submitted some great videos, garnering a large number of views, comments and ratings. Entrants have a chance to win a 1 oz. APMEX Gold Bar, an APMEX Silver Kilo (32.15 ounces) Bar, a 10 oz. APMEX Silver Round or one of several 1 oz. APMEX Silver Rounds. You have until 11:59PM on this Sunday (February 14th) to submit your entry. Winners will be announced next week.

Gold:
Spot gold prices opened this week at $1,068.00. The high during the week was on Friday, February 12th, at $1,097.80, while the low for the week was $1,061.70 on Monday, February 8th. Gold ended the week up $23.00 at $1,091.00. Extremely popular items this week included Gold American Eagles, 2010 Vancouver Olympic Gold Maple Leafs and 1 oz. .9999 Pamp Suisse Gold Bars.

Silver:
Spot silver prices opened this week at $15.16. Silver reached a high of $15.73 on Thursday, February 11th, while the low for silver occurred on Monday, February 8th, at $14.95. Silver ended the week up $0.32 at $15.48. Silver American Eagles, 1 oz. Silver Buffalo Rounds, 2010 Vancouver Silver Maple Leafs and 5 oz. .999 Sunshine Mint Silver Bars were the focus of silver investors at www.APMEX.com this week.

Platinum:
Spot platinum prices opened this week at $1,474.40 and ended the week up $39.70 at $1,514.10. Some of the most sought after platinum products this week included Platinum American Eagles, Platinum Canadian Maple Leafs and 1 oz. Pamp Suisse .999 Fine Platinum Bars.

Palladium:
Spot palladium prices opened this week at $396.00 and ended the week up $25.10 at $421.10. This week, 1 oz. .999 Fine Pamp Suisse Palladium Bars, 2009 Palladium Canadian Maple Leafs MS-69 NGC and Random Year 1 oz. Palladium Canadian Maple Leafs were popular with palladium investors.

Featured Bullion Product:
Each week, APMEX will review a different bullion product for the benefit of our readers. This week, in honor of the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, Canada, we take a look at the Canadian Gold Maple Leaf coin.

As the second oldest gold bullion coin, the Canadian Maple Leaf became the alternative to the South African Krugerrand. The Royal Canadian Mint began striking these coins in 1979 and that minting continues through today. These artistic coins are struck in beautiful 24-karat pure gold and each weighs 1 Troy ounce.

On the obverse, or front, of these coins is a depiction of Great Britain’s Queen Elizabeth the Second. The reverse, or back, of this coin depicts the national symbol of Canada – the Maple Leaf. These stunning coins are backed by the Royal Canadian Mint for their purity, content and fineness.

The Royal Canadian Mint also manufactures specially designed coins such as the 2010 Vancouver Olympics Gold and Silver Maple Leaf coins for important historical events. These coins are destined to become collectors’ items as well as retain their bullion value.

APMEX offers a superb selection of Canadian Gold Maple Leaf coins in a variety of dates and special designs as produced by the Mint. Coins purchased in quantities of 25 or more will be delivered in special tubes and quantities of 500 or more coins are shipped in the special Royal Canadian Mint boxes.