Sales of gold from Australia's Perth Mint soared to their highest in about seven years, the refiner said on Wednesday, as fears over the economic fallout from the cornavirus prompted investors to buy the precious metal as a hedge.
Sales of gold coins and minted bars in March more than quadrupled to 93,775 ounces, the highest since April 2013, gaining more than 309% month on month and more than 186% than the same period last year, the mint said in a blog post.
Sales of silver coins in March jumped about 187% from February and rose 85.5% from the same period last year, to 1,736,409 ounces, its highest since March 2016.
"People are worried their savings will be eroded as a consequence of what's looming as a global recession and by some of the policies fiscal and monetary authorities have implemented to support economies," said IG Markets analyst Kyle Rodda.
"People want a safe store of value and they think gold provides the best means of achieving that."
The surge comes as global lockdowns to combat the coronavirus outbreak continue to squeeze supply chains, with several large metal refiners already shut, driving concern over a potential market shortage amid the increased safe-haven demand.
"Further, with other asset classes facing serious challenges, investors are not only attracted to gold futures and exchange-traded funds, but also to coins," said Soni Kumari, commodity strategist at ANZ, adding that investors were also being drawn to silver because it is cheaper.
Physical gold dealers in Asia struggled to meet surging demand last week, especially in Singapore.
The Perth Mint refines more than 90% of newly mined gold in Australia, one of the world's top gold producers.
(Reporting by Shreyansi Singh in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by K. Sathya Narayanan in Bengaluru; Editing by Louise Heavens and David Goodman)
