2009 NY and London Silver Prices, Annual Gains

Despite a down week, silver had a spectacular 2009. The metal posted an annual gain in New York of 49%, which was the biggest yearly increase since 1979. The percent gain was even larger in London at 57.5%.

New York silver futures for March delivery ended the year at $16.85 an ounce — plunging 60 cents, or 3.4 percent, for the week. The price more than tripled from the $5.453 mark at the end of 1999.

London silver was fixed at $16.99 an ounce, falling 33 cents or 1.9 percent for the week. The metal ranged from a low of $16.92 on Wednesday to a $17.42 high point on Tuesday. It jumped $6.20 in 2009. London silver finished at $5.33 a decade ago.

For most of 2009, silver followed gold’s direction. Gold in turn moved opposite of the US dollar. Where the greenback heads in 2010 is likely to contribute greatly to silver’s direction again. A couple of thoughts by two market players follow:

"The purchasing power of all currencies is being eroded," James Turk, the founder of Jersey, Channel Islands-based GoldMoney.com, said on Bloomberg. "I look at the real price of goods and I see hyperinflation for the dollar in the not-too-distant future. That means a declining value of the dollar and higher gold prices."

"It appears that 2009 will end much the way it started in the financial markets, a dollar story," Brian Kelly, chief executive of Kanundrum Research, a commodities and macroeconomic research firm, said on MarketWatch. "For gold the catalyst in 2010 will be inflationary pressures."

London precious metal weekly prices follow:

London Fix Precious Metal Prices
	Gold		Silver	Platinum		Palladium
	AM	PM		AM	PM	AM	PM
12/24/2009	1104.50	–	17.32	1456.00	–	377.00	–
12/31/2009	1104.00	–	16.99	1466.00	–	402.00	–

 

Dollar and Percent Bullion Price Changes
	Up	Down	% Change	$ Change
Silver		X	-1.9%	-$0.33
Gold		X	-0.05%	-$0.50
Platinum	X		0.7%	$10.00
Palladium	X		6.6%	$25.00

 

These articles offer precious metals and silver coin news:

• Gold rises as dollar weakens, making ninth yearly gain – MarketWatch
  Gold futures rose Thursday, ending 2009 with their ninth consecutive yearly gain as a weaker U.S. dollar increased gold’s investment appeal. On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, the most actively traded February gold contract rose $3.70, or …

• Gold Climbs, Capping Ninth Annual Gain, on Currency Outlook – Bloomberg
  Gold futures rose, capping the ninth straight annual gain, on speculation that the dollar will extend a slump, spurring demand for the metal as an alternative investment. Silver had the biggest yearly increase since 1979. Gold advanced 24 percent this year as government …

• Many Happy Returns of Ye Year – Jon Nadler, Kitco
  Year-end book-squaring continued during the overnight hours, this time in favor of gold, oil, and the euro for a change, as a rather large wave of dollar selling hit the market and brought the US currency to just under 77.50 on the trade-weighted index. Bargain hunting by locals over in India helped support the move to higher ground in gold, albeit the stand-out performer early this morning was …

• 2009 American Gold Eagles Lead US Mint’s Sales – CoinNews
  If the United States Mint was hoping for strong Christmas week sales from Santa, unfortunately, they were disappointed. For the third straight week figures show significant drops in volume almost across the board for collector coins. Only a few meager entries managed a positive change, but the overall results are not too rosy. Of course, this time of year one would expect a lack of interest in the hobby with thoughts …

• Silver Collector Coins Weaken, Eagles Soar – Silver Coins Today
  The latest United States Mint sales report shows robust 2009 Silver Eagle bullion figures, but weakening numismatic silver coin demand. The bullion Silver Eagles just came off their most recent suspension on Dec. 7. Since then, and despite their allocated or rationed distribution, the US Mint has sold 2,687,500 to their small group of authorized dealers, marking the second best December for Silver Eagles since …

• Fractional Gold Eagle 2009 Mintages – CoinNews
  2009 Fractional American Gold Eagle bullion coins are in the history books with leading sales figures, despite their late launch and quick sell out. Having only been released on Dec. 3, 2009, the coins in the fractional sizes of one-half ounce, one-quarter ounce, and one-tenth ounce weights recorded smashing release day sales — 345,000 were sold for a total of 58,000 ounces of gold …

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