Gold bullion coins dipped today 9.50 to 835 in very light trading. Silver bullion coins off just .08 and looking strong at 11.14. As a strong indication of a global employment meltdown increase as Brazil and Hong Kong reported unemployment rates increased to a ten year high and future cuts are expected in both countries throughout 2009. Gold bullion coins are being delivered to dealers again after supplies ran short mid 2008 and dealers are reporting that inventories are hard to keep on the shelf in 2009. This could mean that supplies may run dry quicker than last year and it’s expected that popular bullion items like the American eagle and Canadian maple leaf could run dry early in the second quarter of 2008.
Many investors are wondering why they can’t find bullion items and why the premiums are so much higher than 12 months ago. This is because with the run on banks in 2008 much of those funds turned to gold bullion coins as a solution to the insecurity in the market place. Expect this same event to occur in 2009 and midyear it should be difficult to purchase bullions bars and coins. The exception will be gold bullion bars that have remained available without the higher premiums we see on the one ounce coins and smaller bars. So if you plan on buying gold bullion coins or small bullion bars then I would suggest you do your buying in the first quarter of this year and if you’re thinking about selling then you should wait to mid year because dealer bidding wars on your buy backs could have a strong impact on any potential profit.
