Perth Mint's monthly gold sales nearly halve in May to over 2-year low
June 5 (Reuters) - The Perth Mint's gold product sales in May fell 46% from the previous month to their lowest level since April 2017, the refiner said on Wednesday. Sales of gold coins and minted bars in May fell to 10,790 ounces from 19,991 ounces in April, the mint said in a blog post. Silver sales last month fell about 25% to 681,582 ounces from April. In May, benchmark spot gold prices posted their first monthly gain in four months, following a surge towards the end of the month after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened tariffs on imports from Mexico, which fed fears of a global downturn. The Perth Mint refines more than 90% of newly-mined gold in Australia, the world's second-largest gold producer after China. Period Gold (oz) Silver (oz) (year-month) 2019-May 10,790 681,582 2019-April 19,991 906,219 2019-March 32,757 935,819 2019-Feb 19,524 584,310 2019-Jan 31,189 828,854 2018-Dec 29,186 692,971 2018-Nov 64,308 876,446 2018-Oct 36,840 1,079,684 2018-Sept 62,552 1,305,600 2018-August 38,904 520,245 2018-July 29,921 486,821 2018-June 16,847 229,280 2018-May 14,800 557,120 2018-April 15,161 458,655 2018-March 29,883 975,921 2018-Feb 26,473 992,954 2018-Jan 37,174 1,067,361 2017-Dec 27,009 874,437 2017-Nov 23,901 544,436 2017-Oct 44,618 999,425 2017-Sept 46,415 697,849 2017-Aug 23,130 392,091 2017-July 23,675 1,167,963 2017-June 19,259 1,215,071 2017-May 29,679 826,656 2017-April 10,490 468,977 2017-March 22,232 716,283 2017-Feb 25,257 502,353 2017-Jan 72,745 1,230,867 2016-Dec 63,420 430,009 2016-Nov 54,747 984,622 2016-Oct 79,048 1,084,213 2016-Sept 58,811 1,031,858 2016-Aug 14,684 376,461 2016-July 16,870 693,447 2016-June 31,368 1,220,817 2016-May 21,035 974,865 2016-April 47,542 1,161,766 2016-March 47,948 1,756,238 2016-Feb 37,063 1,049,062 2016-Jan 47,759 1,473,408 (Reporting by Nallur Sethuraman in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
