MANILA, Feb 1 (Reuters) - The Perth Mint's gold sales jumped to a three-month peak in January as consumers chased prices that scaled a 12-week high last week.
Spot gold XAU= climbed to $1,127.80 an ounce on Jan. 27, backed by volatility in risk assets and expectations that the Federal Reserve may go slow in raising U.S. interest rates amid a shaky global economy.
Sales of gold coins and minted bars rose to 47,759 ounces last month from 40,096 ounces in December, the mint said in a blog post on its website. It more than doubled from January 2015.
The Perth Mint runs the only gold refinery in Australia, the world's second-biggest gold producer after China.
The increase followed strong sales of American Eagle bullion coins last month, which rose 53 percent from a year ago. Perth Mint's silver sales climbed to 1.47 million ounces in January from 1.08 million ounces in December, and also more than doubled from January last year.
Period
Gold
Silver
Jan-16
47,759 1,473,408
Dec-15
40,096 1,083,460
Nov-15
31,664 1,145,239
Oct-15
66,951 1,751,898
Sep-15
63,791 3,349,557
Aug-15
33,390
707,656
Jul-15
51,088
746,700
Jun-15
31,019
384,586
May-15
21,671
337,511
Apr-15
26,545
472,273
Mar-15
34,260
638,557
Feb-15
31,981
392,114
Jan-15
23,174
585,953