Daily Market Report 1/25/13

GOLD

Early this morning Gold sold off in Asia breaking below the important $1,661 per ounce support level on positive economic news (see below). In very active trading Gold traded as low as $1,656 per ounce before finding bargain buyers. At 11am PDT today, Gold is down $9.00 per ounce, trading at $1,658 per ounce.

Positive Economic News

Manufacturing in China and the United States grew this month at the fastest pace in about two years. Recent data has shown German growth picked up giving hopes for a quicker Eurozone recovery. This information has provided signs that the global economy may be gaining traction and less monetary stimulus will be required. 

SILVER

Silver followed Gold’s downside move today, reaching a low of $31.11 per ounce on above average volume of trading for a Friday. At 11am PDT today, Silver is trading at $31.18 per ounce, down $0.50 per ounce.

Royal Canadian Mint Hits Silver Supply Shortage, Limits Dealer Allocation

On the first day of availability for 2013-dated Silver Eagles, authorized purchasers had placed orders for 3,937,000 of the one ounce coins. This seemed to mark the highest one-day sales in the entire history of the program. The strong demand has continued with sales now having reached 6,007,000 according to the latest information posted on the Mint’s website. The frenzied pace of orders for 2013 Silver Eagles has been driven by the typical rush to acquire the most recently dated coins, as well as pent up demand following three weeks of unavailability. The US Mint had unexpectedly sold out of the 2012-dated coins on December 17, 2012 with no coins available to order until the launch of the 2013-dated coins. Confirming this strain on physical Silver supplies, on Wednesday morning, January 23rd, the Royal Canadian Mint (RCM) went on allocation, limiting the quantity of sales of the popular Silver Maple Leaf coin. So, now the Silver shortage has spread across the continent. Both dealers and wholesalers are reporting that the supply of 2013 Canadian Silver Maple Leafs and U.S. Silver Eagles are now weeks backlogged.