APMEX Market Recap 2/11/11

Our first story this week was the disclosure that the NASDAQ had been hacked. Yet another blow to investor confidence at a time they thought it might be safe to go back into the water. The Egyptian crisis stayed top of mind, but no headlines had been made this week…yet.

On Tuesday, inflation concerns began to surface. China raised interest rates for the second time in six weeks, which normally suppresses precious metal prices. Today, however, it had an opposite effect as it triggered fears that inflation might not be far behind in other emerging markets as well as the US. Representative Paul Ryan further fanned the inflation fears while appearing on CNBC. He is upset with the Federal Reserve Bank for missing their opportunity to curb future inflation, by not taking appropriate measures now. Precious metal prices surged on the day.

JP Morgan announced this week that they would begin allowing gold as collateral for trading. This should not only give gold prices a boost, it would also set a floor for spot gold. Silver once again crossed the $30 barrier, perhaps on the news that China had imported 4X more silver in 2010 as they did in 2009.

All week long, the continued turmoil in Egypt grabbed worldwide attention. Last week’s violence was settling down, but not gone. Things looked to be calming down. The markets clearly had decided that everything would turn out alright. On Thursday, it was reported that Mubarak would step down, but then later he announced he would not. The markets continued to discount this event. Then on Friday, President Mubarak did step down turning the government over to the military. Stocks rejoiced and precious metals went down. Everything is fine in Egypt! Or is it? Jon Alterman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies points out “Egypt isn’t moving toward a democracy, it’s moved into martial law and where it goes now is subject to debate”. In other words, this is only the end of the beginning. Now the action really starts.

Gold:
Spot Gold prices opened this week at $1,349.60. The high during the week was on Friday, February 11th, at $1,369.70, while the low for the week occurred on Monday, February 7th, at $1,344.10. Gold ended the week up $7.60 at $1,357.20. This week, the most popular Gold bullion products were 2011 Gold American Eagles, 1 oz. Pamp Suisse Gold Bars, and 2011 1 oz. Gold Maple Leafs.

Silver:
Spot Silver prices opened this week at $29.18. Silver reached a high of $30.29 on Friday, February 11th, while this week’s low for Silver occurred on Monday, February 11th, at $29.01. Silver ended the week up $0.75 at $29.93. The most popular Silver products on APMEX.com this week were 2011 Silver American Eagles, 2011 Silver Maple Leafs, 1 oz. Silver Buffalo Rounds and 10 oz. APMEX Silver Bars.

Platinum:
Spot Platinum prices opened this week at $1,848.20 and ended the week down $44.20 at $1,804.00. Popular Platinum products this week included, 1 oz. Pamp Suisse Platinum Bars, 1/10 oz. Platinum American Eagles, and 1 oz. Platinum American Eagles.

Palladium:
Spot Palladium prices opened this week at $817.00 and ended the week down $1.30 at $815.70. Palladium investors preferred 1 oz. Pamp Suisse Palladium Bars and Palladium Canadian Maple Leafs this week at APMEX.com.

Featured Bullion Product:
Each week, APMEX will review a different bullion product for the benefit of our readers. This week, we will review the Gold Austrian 100 Corona Coins.

Because of the history behind them, the Austrian 100 Corona Gold Coins are some of the most interesting coins in the world. For example, the Austrian 100 Corona Gold Coins were among some of the first gold bullion coins available upon the enactment of an executive order on December 31, 1974, that re-entitled Americans to own gold bullion. In addition to their availability at the time of the 1974 order, the Austrian Corona Gold Coins are also fascinating because they are re-strikes, which are official reproductions of coins that were originally minted for circulation. Issued from 1908 to 1914, the Austrian 100 Gold Coins first featured their date of issue. However, after the death of the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph, the gold coins were produced as commemorative pieces and were dated 1915.

Minted in Vienna Austria, the Austrian 100 Corona Gold Coin is .900 fine gold (21.6 karat gold) and contains 0.9802 troy ounces of gold. Designed by Stephan Schwartz, the Austrian 100 Corona Gold Coin pays tribute to Austrian nationalism and pride. The obverse of the Austrian Corona Gold Coin displays a portrait of the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph I, who ruled from 1848 to 1916. The reverse features the Austrian Coat of Arms, depicting a double eagle and a crown. Moreover, the edges of the Austrian 100 Corona Gold Coins include the lettering Vnitus Viribvs, which means “the unified strength,” a well-known motto attributed to Franz Joseph I.

No longer minted, the Austrian 100 Corona Gold Coins are some of the lowest-premium gold bullion coins available on the world coin market. Appealing to both collectors and investors alike, the Austrian 100 Corona Gold Coins have begun to attract attention for both their unique history and low-premium gold status.