The flipping of the calendar to 2015 has not dampened the demand for silver bullion coins.
The US Mint announced its first weekly allocation of American Silver Eagles for 2016 and the number was quadruple the amount rationed during each of the last five months of 2015.
Sales have been brisk, according to Reuters:
More than half of the week’s allocation sold on Monday, the first day of 2016 sales, the mint said, a sign that demand remains strong as spot silver prices hovered above a 6-1/2-year low of $13.60 per ounce hit in December. The mint said nearly 2.76 million ounces of American Eagle silver bullion coins sold, about half of the 5.53 million ounces that sold in all of January 2015.”
The first weekly allocation of 2016 was set at 4 million ounces.
Last year, demand was so strong the US Mint sold out of American Silver Eagles in July. Inventory was replenished in August, but the coins were on weekly allocations of roughly 1 million ounces for the rest of the year due to persistently low supplies. The mint set a record for Silver Eagle sales in 2015, with the final total coming in at 47 million ounces.
As Reuters points out, it wasn’t just a US Mint phenomenon. Demand was high worldwide:
The US Mint was not alone in limiting silver coin sales. The unexpected surge in demand put the global silver-coin market in an unprecedented supply squeeze, forcing other mints around the world to ration sales, while US buyers had to look abroad for supplies.”
Globally, silver bullion coin sales hit record highs in the third quarter of 2015, totaling 32.9 million ounces. That represents a 95% year-on-year increase.
This continues a longer-term trend. American Silver Eagle sales began setting records in 2008 and have increased every year since.
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