Silver Coin Sales May Signal Bear-Market End: Chart of the Day

By Maria Kolesnikova

Jan. 12 (Bloomberg) -- The surge in the U.S. Mint’s sales of American Eagle silver coins in January may signal an end to the bear market in the metal.

The CHART OF THE DAY shows the Mint sold 4.26 million ounces of the coins to authorized purchasers Jan. 3 through Jan. 10. At this pace, full-month deliveries may reach 14.2 million ounces, more than twice the record 6.422 million ounces sold in January 2011.

Silver futures fell 48 percent from April to December, more than double the 20 percent drop associated with the start of a bear market. Prices are up 6.9 percent this year. Silver may rise as high as $42.20 an ounce this year, according to the median of 41 analyst estimates in a Bloomberg survey last month.