Barry Stuppler

Precious metal prices rose yesterday on news of more quantitative easing (QE) by central banks in Europe. The most actively traded Comex gold contract, for December delivery, rose $11.60 (0.7%), settling at $1,653.20 per troy ounce. Platinum for January delivery was up 1.7% to $1,508.10 per ounce, while palladium for December delivery settled up 5% to $598 per ounce. However – and unsurprisingly on a day when hedge funds were buying “risk” assets and inflation expectations were rising – silver was the best performer of the precious metals, with the December contract gaining 5.5% to settle at $32.005 per ounce....

With the U.S. Mint recording its second best sales month ever for Silver Eagles in September, expectations are high that trade in American Silver Eagle bullion coins may shatter records again this year....

Even though the gold price suffered a sharp drop in September, at the end of the third quarter the yellow metal was trading 8% higher than the previous quarter. Many have taken advantage of the lower prices around $1,610 per troy ounce to enter long positions. Even if some market participants might have lost confidence after this sharp price drop in the precious metal sector, the fundamentals that are underpinning the gold bull market remain unchanged. Due to the escalating European sovereign debt crisis, which could lead to the disintegration of the eurozone, many investors still judge gold to be....