Weekly Market Recap 10/30/09

Early in the week, Reuters reported that China said it should increase its holdings of Euros and the Japanese Yen in its foreign reserves. This report had a negative effect on the already slumping U.S. Dollar and is further evidence that our currency’s stability is in question throughout the world. The U.S. Dollar fell to a 14-month low against the Euro and the Japanese Yen this week.

Consumers are still very concerned about whether we will have an economic recovery or not. The Consumer Confidence Index dropped to lower-than-expected levels this month, surprising some economists. Reuters reported that there are growing concerns that the job market conditions will worsen in the near term. The director of The Conference Board of Consumer Research Center reaffirmed this report by saying that the short-term outlook has grown more negative. Meanwhile, a greater proportion of consumers anticipate business and labor market conditions will worsen in the months ahead.

This week, more Americans who were surveyed said that jobs were “hard to get” in October and they remain quite pessimistic about their future earnings. This may have a negative impact on holiday spending. Economists watch consumer confidence because spending on goods and services by Americans accounts for about 70% of U.S. economic activity by federal measures. The upshot of all of this bleak economic news is that more investors than ever before are increasingly relying upon precious metals as the “defensive asset” component in their investment portfolios.

APMEX announced its Numismatic Closeout Event this week. APMEX will no longer be selling certain types of coins, currency, collectibles and supplies. This decision has been made to accommodate the growing requests from our customers for more precious metal and bullion-related items. If you are a collector, take advantage of this great opportunity to save big money on your favorite numismatic items. At these prices, many products are not going to last long. Visit www.APMEX.com to see all of our price-reduced products.

Gold:

Spot Gold prices opened this week at $1,054.00. The high during the week was on Monday, October 26th, at $1,070.50, while the low for the week was on Wednesday, October 28th at $1,026.10. Gold ended the week with a small loss of $8.00 at $1,046.00. This week, 2009 1 oz. Gold American Eagles, 2009 Fractional American Gold Eagle Coins, 2009 1 oz. Gold Buffalo Coins and 1 gram APMEX Gold Bars were the most popular items purchased.

Silver:

Spot Silver prices opened this week at $17.67. Silver reached a high of $17.70 on Monday, October 26th. The low for silver occurred on Thursday, October 29th at $16.12. Silver ended the week down $1.34 at $16.33. This week 2009 1 oz. Silver American Eagles, 2010 1 oz. Canadian Silver Maple Leafs and APMEX 1 oz. .999 Fine Silver Bars were the most popular silver bullion items purchased at APMEX.com.

Platinum:

Spot Platinum prices opened this week at $1,369.00, and ended the week down $37.10 at $1,331.90. Many collectors have noted the U.S. Mint’s decision not to strike any additional Platinum Eagle coins for the remainder of this year. Popular platinum products for this week included 1 oz. Pamp Suisse Platinum Bars, 2009 1 oz. Platinum Canadian Maple Leafs and 2009 1 oz. Platinum American Eagles.

Palladium:

Spot Palladium prices opened this week at $338.50, and ended the week down $16.00 at $322.50. 2009 1 oz. Palladium Maple Leafs, 1 oz. Pamp Suisse Palladium Bars and 10 oz. Pamp Suisse Palladium Bars were popular with investors.

Numismatics:
As we enter November and the days become shorter and colder, the pace of business at APMEX has been heating up! In recent weeks, Cull Silver Dollars have been a big seller, especially since the spot price of silver has dropped slightly, along with the temperature.

An important business note is that APMEX is officially limiting the types of numismatic items that it will offer in the future. To accommodate that fact, we are having a “Numismatic Closeout Event” on many different numismatic products. APMEX will continue to buy and sell Silver Dollars, Pre-1933 U.S. Gold, 40% and 90% Silver coins, and everything else that is bullion-related. We will be closing out Type Coins, Commemoratives, Proof Sets, Currency, Books, Supplies and many other categories. There are many fantastic closeout deals available. You should act fast before the coins you want disappear!

Continuing our analysis of Silver Dollars, we would like to discuss one of the “Most Common” and yet, “Most Beautiful” of all of the Morgan Silver Dollars – the 1881-S. This is a relatively common coin, but it is RARE to ever find one below Very Fine grade! With a mintage of 12,760,000 coins struck, the "81-S" is certainly available in grades up to and including MS-67. This date is typically very well-struck with booming luster and a cartwheel effect that sometimes requires sunglasses to view it! It is generally a very attractive coin that is always sure to please the most discriminating investor or collector. This coin, along with its other San Francisco brethren – the 1879-S, 1880-S, and 1882-S are some of the earliest and most beautiful coins in the Morgan Dollar series.

Weekly Market Recap 10/23/09

ScotiaMocatta, the precious metals division of the Bank of Nova Scotia, said on Thursday that gold prices could rise to a high of $1,400 an ounce in 2010 as investors turn to the metal as a store of wealth, as reported to Reuters.

The unemployment rate has been increasing at an alarming rate, yet the Dow continues to move a bit higher. According to Bloomberg.com, the economy has lost 7.2 million jobs since the start of the recession and the trend is still going the wrong way. The country’s unemployment rate will reach 10% by the first quarter of 2010, says a U.S. economist, and the Labor Department said that 15 states already had an unemployment rate above 10%. Stocks have been moving upward, but the reporting is clouded by earnings that have risen only because companies have cut their costs deeper than falling revenues. Real improvement and growth will not be visible until the economy allows for new business, increased revenue and new customers.

The U.S. Dollar continues its roller coaster ride, as even more discussions from around the globe about the “Dollar Crisis” surface. According to the Treasury Department, the U.S. Dollar has fallen 15% in just seven months against a basket of the world’s major currencies. Should the trend move downward another 6%, it will exceed the all time lows. Many experts believe that inflation is inevitable due to interest rates staying at or near zero for quite some time.

The rising cost of oil is also troublesome this week. The U.S. Energy Secretary said that the rising cost of oil could damage the world economy just as it begins to rebound. In addition, he said that a sharp upswing in oil prices could hinder a global economic recovery and pointed out that last year’s oil price spike was a disaster for the world economy.

This week, APMEX was proud to announce that it was one of the first precious metal dealers to be able to pre-sell the 2009 Fractional American Gold Eagle coins to its customers. These highly anticipated coins will likely sell out quickly, so buy yours today before it’s too late. This weekend, APMEX is also rolling out its “WOW Weekend” promotion. Customers will be able to take advantage of 10–ounce .999 Fine APMEX Silver Bars at only $0.69 per ounce over spot in any quantity. The sale goes through Sunday, October 25th, at midnight, or while supplies last, so purchase yours now. APMEX would like to thank its customers for their continued business and let them know that we look forward to fulfilling all of their precious metal needs in the future.

Gold:

Spot Gold prices opened this week at $1,049.60. The high during the week was on Friday, October 23rd, at $1,068.50, while the low for the week was on Wednesday, October 21st, at $1,048.10. Gold ended the week with a gain of $6.00 at $1,055.60. This week, 2009 1/10th oz. Gold American Eagles, 2009 1 oz. Gold Buffalo Coins and 1 oz. Random Year Gold American Eagles were the most popular items investors purchased.

Silver:

Spot Silver prices opened this week at $17.48. Silver reached a high of $17.97 on Friday, October 23rd. The low for silver occurred on Thursday, October 22nd at $17.38. Silver ended the week up $0.23 at $17.71. This week, investors concentrated on 2009 1 oz. Silver American Eagles, 2010 1 oz. Canadian Silver Maple Leafs and 1 oz. Sunshine Minting Silver Rounds.

Platinum:

Spot Platinum prices opened this week at $1,348.50, and ended the week up $15.10 at $1,363.60. 1 oz. Pamp Suisse Platinum Bars, 2009 1 oz. Platinum Canadian Maple Leafs and 1/10 oz. Platinum American Eagles were popular in steady trading.

Palladium:

Spot Palladium prices opened this week at $331.00, and ended the week up $7.00 at $338.00. 2009 1 oz. Palladium Maple Leafs, 1 oz. Pamp Suisse Palladium Bars and 10 oz. Pamp Suisse Palladium Bars are consistently popular palladium items.

Numismatics:
As bullion continues its upward trend, more and more investors are eagerly buying physical assets such as bullion gold and silver. Since APMEX broke the news about the availability of the Fractional American Gold Eagle coins, they have taken up most of the headlines. Not to be outdone, silver is quietly gaining ground.

Cull Silver Dollars remain strong and coins such as the 1921 Morgan Silver Dollars in circulated collector’s grades and Peace Silver Dollars in Very Good to Extra Fine condition are once again very popular. The common date Morgan and Peace Silver Dollars in higher grades that are graded by a third-party grading service are also selling well. These items continue to make a lasting impression on the investing public.
Morgan Silver Dollars are arguably the most collected coin in the world.

Last week, we shifted gears to accommodate a collector’s point of view and talked about VAM varieties. This week, we will highlight a beautiful coin from the Carson City Mint which produced Morgan Silver dollars from 1878 to 1893. As most coin collectors know, coins from the Carson City Mint generally command quite a premium. 1878 was the first year that Morgan Silver Dollars were minted and that was also the first year that these coins were produced in Carson City, Nevada.

This coin was struck with a "Reverse of 1878" die variety which has a parallel top arrow feather and seven tail feathers. The 1878-CC had the second highest Carson City mintage with 2.2 million coins minted. It is one of the more consistently well struck coins in the entire Morgan series with very pleasing luster. Due to the fact that this is the first year of issue, well struck, and generally pleasing to the eye, this has always been a popular coin with collectors.