Weekly Market Recap 2/13/2009

The stock market can only stare unpleasantly at the action in precious metals markets this year. Prices of precious metals have rallied to their best levels since at least September, while Wall Street continues to struggle. Analysts believe that the big gains in precious metals midweek are directly correlated to the disappointment over the United States’ lack of progress on phase two of the financial system rescue.

The fear is that the new heavy government spending and rock bottom short term interest rates could devalue the dollar. If the general public loses faith in paper currency, the natural beneficiaries are precious metals. Now is the time to protect your assets and buy precious metals as a hedge against this uncertain economy.

Here is a brief synopsis of the highs and lows in the market and an overview of our very popular bullion products and numismatics here at www.APMEX.com.

Gold:
Spot Gold prices opened this week at $913.40. The high during the week was on Thursday February 12 at $954.00, while the low for the week occurred on Wednesday February 11 at $912.00. Gold ended the week up at $943.80. This week, 2009 1 oz Gold American Eagles, 2009 Gold Canadian Maple Leafs, 2009 1/10 oz. Gold Canadian Maple Leafs, 1 oz. Pamp Suisse Gold Bars, and 5gm Pamp Suisse Gold Bars were all in high demand.


Silver:
Spot Silver prices opened last week at $13.11. Active trading pushed spot silver to a high of $13.77 at the close of the market on Friday February 13th, 2009. 2009 Silver American Eagles, 1 oz. Silver Buffalo Rounds, 2009 Silver Canadian Maples and 2009 1 oz. Austrian Silver Philharmonics were hot this week as staple precious metal items.



Platinum:
Spot Platinum prices opened last week at $1001.00, but ended the week up at $1074.00. Investors were eager to purchase Platinum, though the scarce supply made it difficult to acquire this metal. APMEX has 1 oz. Platinum Pamp Suisse Bars, 1 gm Credit Suisse Platinum Bars, and 5 gm Credit Suisse Platinum Bars. These items will not last long so purchase yours today!



Palladium:
Spot Palladium prices opened this week at $213.60, but ended the week up at $221.65. Palladium products continue to be in great demand and very hard to come by. This week the 1 oz. and 10 oz. Pamp Suisse Palladium Bars were hot items. Again, these bars will not last long due to popular demand.




Numismatics:
The Long Beach Coin Expo, which is held three times a year, was a stronger show for many dealers, than was the annual Florida United Numismatists (FUN) show in January. That is generally not the case with a show held three times a year! But Long Beach has a history of being a bellwether show. The coin markets have demonstrated both “Bull” and “Bear” characteristics at this particular show over the years.
The strongest items at this show were Pre-1933 Gold Coins, choice problem-free Type Coins, and all Gold Bullion Coins! Bullion prices have kept Pre-1933 Gold Coin prices strong and with Gold pushing higher over $900.00 an ounce, the demand has increased at all levels.

Weekly Market Recap 2/6/2009

The ongoing economic slowdown and slide in dollar value is driving investors to focus primarily on precious metals. We are seeing gold appreciate against all currencies. Silver has been tracking gold and has risen to highs unseen since October 2008. Analysts said as the economic stimulus plans and lower interest rate policies went on, inflation will be inevitable in the long run, which made precious metals even more attractive as a risk hedge and protection of wealth.

This week APMEX highlighted a variety of silver products in the “Sweetheart Silver Sale”, which had a great response as customers were able to take advantage of great pricing on a wide variety of silver products.

Here is a brief synopsis of the highs and lows in the market and an overview of our very popular bullion products and numismatics here at http://www.apmex.com/.


Gold:
Spot Gold prices opened this week at $927.00. The high during the week was on Monday February 2 at $929.00, while the low for the week occurred on Tuesday February 3 at $890.30. Gold ended the week down overall at $913.40. This week, 2009 1 oz Gold American Eagles, 2009 1 oz Gold Maples, 1/10th oz. Gold Maples, 5 gram Pamp Suisse Bars and 1/10 oz. and 1/20 oz. Fractional Australian Gold Lunar and Kangaroos were all in high demand with investors.

Silver:
Spot Silver prices opened last week at $12.65. Silver's high for the week was $13.20 at the close of trading on Friday February 6, 2009. The low for silver occurred on Tuesday February 3, at $12.13. 2009 Silver American Eagles, 1 oz. Silver Buffalo Rounds, 2009 Silver Canadian Maples, moved fast in online trading due in part to the APMEX “Silver Sweet Heart” sale. This email announced sale received a great response and customers were able to pick up large volumes of silver at great prices. Be sure you are receiving APMEX blast emails to get advanced notice of these sales.

Platinum:
Spot Platinum prices opened last week at $996.00, and ended the week up at $1010.00. APMEX has 1 oz. Platinum Credit Suisse Bars that are on a slight delay but are expected to ship by February 23, 2009 or sooner. These items are getting harder to find so purchase yours today!

Palladium:
Spot Palladium prices opened this week at $193.30, and ended the week up at $219.95. Palladium products continue to be in great demand and very hard to come by. This week the 1 oz. and 10 oz. Pamp Suisse Palladium Bars were hot items. Again, these bars will not last long due to popular demand.

Numismatics:
As dealers head to the Golden State to attend the Long Beach Coin Expo, the market looks much more positive than it has it recent weeks. While the metals prices are up, gold and silver coins are responding in kind. Gold seems to be very popular in all grades and in all denominations! Pre-1933 Gold Coins are on every dealer’s want lists. They are actively being purchased and sold by a wide number of dealers. Finally, Morgan Silver Dollars have taken a little breather. Generic Morgans are a tad softer and most rare dates Morgans are stable.

Type coins were stable last week, but are in demand this week. Early (1936 to 1950) Proof and Mint sets are leading this entire segment of the market. Their popularity is directly due to their very limited mintages and the fact that fresh deals of Proof Sets are seldom encountered. The early series of Classic Commemorative Coins have retreated further in price.