2008-09-26

Gold coin sales halted by the US Mint (again!)

The Financial Times reports:

The rush by retail investors into gold on Thursday forced the US government to “temporarily” suspend the sales of the popular American Buffalo one-ounce bullion coin after depleting its inventories.

The shortage of gold coins is the latest sign of investors seeking a safe haven into bullion amid Wall Street woes. Gold prices this week surged above $900 an ounce, up about 20 per cent from its level before the collapse of Lehman Brothers.

Safe-haven buying spurred by a weakening dollar and rising inflation on the back of high commodity prices have also benefited gold sales, analyst said.

The US Mint said in a memorandum that “demand has exceeded supply” and, therefore, it was “temporarily suspending sales of these coins”. “We are working ­diligently to build up our inventory and hope to resume sales shortly,” it added.

It is not the first time I blog about this, here are the two previous posts, recommended reading:

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