The Perth Mint, producer of 10% of the world's bullion, doubled output in the past six months, joining a global push to boost production as investors seek protection from the credit crisis.
Perth Mint sold so-called Kangaroo and Nugget coins weighing a total of 62,630 ounces in the three months to September 30, compared with 154,501 ounces for the 12 months to June 30, senior manager Bron Suchecki said yesterday, adding there's been a surge in "moms and dads'' buying over the counter in the past three months.
"It's reflecting a real breakdown in trust in financial products,'' Suchecki said at the mint. "People aren't thinking `how do I grow my wealth' but `how do I protect it.'''
Gold for immediate delivery has jumped 10% in the past week as investors pulled a record $52.1 billion ($78.1 billion) from US-managed stock and bond mutual funds. The US Mint and Austria's Muenze Oesterreich are among coin makers to increase production.
"People are rushing to buy gold purely as a safe haven,'' Jonathan Barratt, managing director of Commodity Broking Services in Sydney, said today.
"The premiums at the moment for physical gold are going through the roof. Physical sellers are slowly running dry. It's pretty much the only bright spark among commodities.''
As well as producing coins, the mint holds about $1.5 billion of gold on deposit for investors, about 90% of whom are from overseas, up from $880 million a year ago, Suchecki said. It doesn't give figures for the amount held.
"There are people that want physical gold as a kind of insurance against financial calamity and breakdown of society,'' Suchecki said. "You can't get an insurance policy to cover against that. These types don't really care what happens to the gold price.''
The Perth Mint, founded in 1899, employs about 250 people, working three shifts a day, every day. Formerly a branch of Britain's Royal Mint, it's controlled by the Western Australian government and owns a 40% stake in AGR Matthey, Australia's only major gold refiner.
Kangaroo coins, the mint's biggest sellers, weigh as much as 1 ounce; Nuggets are coins with higher weights.
"I see this demand continuing while there's this uncertainty,'' Suchecki said. "But I don't think we're at the point where the average person who's never bought gold before is suddenly trying to buy physical gold. There's not that mass-market demand as yet.''
