Perth Mint Works Through Weekend as Gold Demand Surges on Price

Australia’s Perth Mint, which refines nearly all of the nation’s bullion, said that demand has jumped to the highest level in five years after prices plunged, with the factory kept open through the weekend to meet orders.

There’s been strong interest, including from the U.S., with buyers speculating that the metal will rebound from the decline, Ron Currie, sales and marketing director, said in a phone interview from Perth.

Bullion fell 14 percent in the two days to April 15, the most since 1983, spurring buyers to increase physical holdings. Billionaire John Paulson, the biggest investor in the largest exchange-traded product backed by bullion, reiterated his bullish view on prices. Coin sales by the U.S. Mint are set for the highest month since December 2009, while premiums to secure supplies in India rose to five times the level before the slump.

“We haven’t seen levels like this since the 2008 global financial crisis,” Currie said yesterday. “Compared to March sales, April sales have doubled or tripled,” he said, without providing figures.

Gold for immediate delivery traded at $1,473.05 an ounce at 8:01 a.m. in Singapore after losing 0.2 percent. While prices have gained 11 percent from a two-year low on April 16, they are still 5.7 percent below the April 11 close before the rout.

Increased physical purchases may help to offset declining holdings in ETPs, which are on course for a record contraction in tonnage terms this month, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Holdings have lost 168 tons in April, the data show.

(Source: Bloomberg)