NEW YORK (Scrap Register): United States Mint gold bullion coin sales so far in January are the strongest of any month since April, although sales are typically robust in the start of any new year, said Barclays in a research note.
Data on the U.S. Mint website showed that combined American Eagle and Buffalo coin sales for the month so far stand at 129,000 ounces.
According to Barclays, most of that (was) achieved during the first half of the month, indicating a slowdown last week. This still leaves January as the highest month since the blockbuster sales in April (246.5koz), but it is not unusual to see high gold coin sales in January as collectors buy new issues.
According to Mint’s website, January sales have already reached 12% of full-year 2013 sales that totaled some 1.095 million ounces, Barclays adds. Eagle silver coin sales so far in January are 4.014 million ounces, the most since July.
