U.S. Mint Records Weakest March Sales In 3 Years

Anna Golubova  Thursday March 30, 2017 19:17

U.S. Mint had the weakest March since 2014, selling only 21,000 ounces of gold in various denominations of America Eagle gold coins.

Poor sales were in contrast to the recent rally in gold, when prices hit a one-month high of $1,261 earlier this week.

This year’s March totals were tied with 2014 March results. And both were the lowest since March 2002, when the U.S. Mint sold only 13,500 ounces, according to the official statistics.

Gold analysts explained the low sale figures by pointing to a strong stock market, which kept the investors busy and not focused on buying coins.

“From the end of November through March, the stock market in the U.S. was up over 10%. Stocks were strong, we did not have much inflation, and had very good economic figures that the Fed has been talking about on a daily basis. So, investors have not been queuing up to buy coins,” George Gero, managing director at RBC Wealth Management, told Kitco News.

On a quarterly basis, the mint’s stats show that a total of 166,000 ounces of bullion were sold in Q1 2017, marking the lowest level in over a year.

Month-on-month numbers reveal that sales were the weakest since December 2015, when the U.S. Mint sold only 500 ounces of bullion. 

Quarterly silver demand, on the other hand, improved in Q1, with sales of American Eagle Silver bullion coins rising to 7,957,500 from the 2016 Q4 low of 3,683,500.