Sovereign sales pleasing despite challenging environment for precious metals

The Perth Mint sold 22,520 troy ounces (oz) of gold and 491,946 oz of silver in minted product form during June 2024.

Opening the month around USD 2,350, the gold price remained steady at that level until two market announcements resulted in the price being negatively impacted. The first was that, after an 18-month stretch of buying, the People's Bank of China (PBoC) had halted gold purchases in May. The second was the release of May US nonfarm payroll data that showed a gain of 272k, which was greater than the expected 180k. This result led to a strengthening of the USD as traders scaled back their expectations of a rate cut by the fed. At this point gold dropped below the key USD 2,300 level and for the rest of the month it failed to gain much traction, trading up and down based on the prevailing news in a narrow band around this level. For the 12 months to 30 June 2024, gold was up nearly 22%.

In Australian dollar terms, the gold price moved slightly lower in June tracking the drop in USD terms. The Australian dollar was flat over the course of the month so this didn’t impact the AUD gold price in June. At the end of the month gold was trading above AUD 3,500 and for the year the precious metal returned nearly 22% in AUD terms.

Silver started the month trading around USD 31 and then experienced a dip in line with gold, once silver dropped below USD 30 it struggled to gain any momentum for the rest of the month and gave up a lot of the gains from May. However, for the 12 months to 30 June 2024, silver was up near 31%.

The silver price in Australian dollar terms moved lower in line with the USD price move. Silver was trading near AUD 44 at month end and for the year to 30 June 2024, was up over 30%.

The Gold Silver Ratio was 79.85 at the end of June, increasing because of the outperformance of gold during the month.

Minted products

The Perth Mint sold 22,520 oz of gold and 491,946 oz of silver in minted product form during June.

The table below highlights how these numbers compare to sales seen one month, three months and one year ago.

JUNE 2024 SALES OF GOLD AND SILVER SOLD AS COINS AND MINTED BARS (TROY OUNCES) AND CHANGE (%) RELATIVE TO PRIOR PERIODS.

The Perth Mint’s General Manager Minted Products, Neil Vance, was buoyed by the successful release of the second and final special coin design celebrating the Mint’s 125^th Anniversary but noted soft demand for both gold and silver continues.

“Sales of our Australia Sovereign 2024 gold proof coin, which was only released on 20 June, have exceeded our expectations. I’m thrilled collectors have loved the design as much as we do,” he said.

“We acknowledge the challenging conditions that continue to exist for all producers of precious metals minted products around the world. Our focus remains on producing high quality and highly collectable coins and bars to meet the expectations of our collectors and investors.”

The Perth Mint manufactures and markets the Australian Precious Metal Coin and Minted Bar Program. Trusted worldwide for their purity and weight, the coins include annual releases of the renowned Australian kangaroo, kookaburra, koala, and lunar series. In addition, periodic releases and series offer investors a choice of alternative design themes.

Bullion coins released in May 2024

• Australian Quokka 2024 1oz Silver Bullion Coin
• Australian Koala 2024 1 Kilo Silver Bullion Coin

For more new product information visit the bullion page. 

Please note: The figures stated in this article are for total monthly ounces of gold and silver shipped as minted products by The Perth Mint to wholesale and retail customers worldwide during June 2024. They exclude sales of cast bars and other activities including sales of allocated/unallocated precious metals for storage by The Perth Mint Depository.

Perth Mint Gold (ASX:PMGOLD)

Perth Mint Gold is an exchange traded product (ETP) that allows investors to trade in gold via a stock broking account as they would shares on the ASX. To learn more, visit the PMGOLD page.

Total holdings in Perth Mint Gold (ASX:PMGOLD) increased during June, with holdings increasing by 907 oz (0.37%). This brings total holdings in PMGOLD to 249,041 ounces (7.75 tonnes).

MONTHLY CHANGE IN TROY OUNCES HELD BY CLIENTS IN PERTH MINT GOLD (ASX:PMGOLD) JUNE 2021 TO JUNE 2024