Silver1 Feb 2021 15:45
Retail sites for silver have been overwhelmed with demand for bars and coins, suggesting the frenzy that roiled commodities markets last week is spilling over into physical assets.
Dealers including Money Metals, SD Bullion, JM Bullion and Apmex said over the weekend they were unable to process orders until Asian markets opened because of unprecedented demand. Buying continued on Monday, and spot silver and futures jumped to breach $30 an ounce.
“Pretty much physical silver is almost all gone in terms of live inventory,” Tyler Wall, president and chief executive officer at SD Bullion, said in a Bloomberg TV interview. “Currently we’re seeing the premium -- the price you pay over spot to get actual physical silver in your hands -- is skyrocketing. Most stuff on our website’s at least 30% over spot and we can’t source it for much less than that right now from our wholesalers.”
Phones were ringing non-stop at Swiss dealer Gold Avenue, said CEO Alessandro Soldati.
“Demand was 10 times a typical Sunday yesterday, and today I would say six times,” he said on Monday. “Everyone is calling us saying ‘I want to buy gold and silver ASAP.’”
Retail traders, inspired by Reddit posters, stormed into the silver market last week and successfully drove up prices of the physical metal, silver miners and exchange-traded funds. Spot prices, silver futures on the Comex and the largest silver exchange-traded fund, iShares Silver Trust, all climbed more than 5% in the week.
Premiums are expected to rise quickly, according to Apmex, which said it’s seeing significant increases in costs and warned it likely needs an additional day or two to fill orders. On Saturday alone, it added as many new customers as it usually adds in a week.
Premiums on American Eagle silver coins have risen to close to $5 from a normal level of $2 over the past three days, according to Everett Millman at Gainesville Coins in Florida. His company’s website has a notice saying orders are taking longer than normal to fulfill.