Demand for Australian bullion products slowed in April from March but was higher than a year ago, the latest sales figures from The Perth Mint of Australia show. Overall for the month, silver sales still remained solid while gold sales softened significantly.
The monthly gains happened against a backdrop of falling precious metals with LBMA prices posting losses of 1% for gold and 1.7% for silver.
Bullion Sales in April 2019
April sales of the Mint’s gold coins and gold bars totaled 19,991 ounces, down 39% from March yet 31.9% higher than in April of last year.
Year-to-date gold sales at 103,461 ounces logged in 4.8% lower than 108,691 ounces sold in the first four months of 2018.
Perth Mint sales of silver coins and silver bars at 906,219 ounces last month slipped 3.2% from March but jumped 97.6% from April 2018.
For the year so far, silver sales at 3,255,202 ounces register 6.9% lower than the 3,494,891 ounces sold during the same period last year.
Perth Mint Gold and Silver Sales by Month
Below is a monthly summary of Perth Mint bullion sales from April 2018 to April 2019. The figures show monthly ounces of gold and silver shipped as minted products by The Perth Mint to wholesale and retail customers worldwide. It excludes sales of cast bars and other Group activities including sales of allocated/unallocated precious metal for storage by the Depository.
| Perth Mint Bullion Sales (in troy ounces) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Silver | Gold | |
| April 2019 | 906,219 | 19,991 |
| March 2019 | 935,819 | 32,757 |
| February 2019 | 584,310 | 19,524 |
| January 2019 | 828,854 | 31,189 |
| December 2018 | 692,971 | 29,186 |
| November 2018 | 876,446 | 64,308 |
| October 2018 | 1,079,684 | 36,840 |
| September 2018 | 1,305,600 | 62,552 |
| August 2018 | 520,245 | 38,904 |
| July 2018 | 486,821 | 29,921 |
| June 2018 | 229,280 | 16,847 |
| May 2018 | 557,120 | 14,800 |
| April 2018 | 458,655 | 15,161 |
Bar sales are down because demand has exploded. They are only producing coins (presumably because these attract the highest premium) and they flat out cannot mint them as fast as investors consume. Therefore, assertions about ‘demand’ cannot be supported – at least while sales are constrained by production.