After a relative lull in the precious metals markets the past few weeks, gold and silver saw some action early this week on news out of Cyprus concerning a tax on all bank depositors’ funds.
Cyprus is in need of a bailout, but the Euro Zone will only entertain funding the country if Cyprus levies a one-time tax between 6.6% and 12.5% on all depositors’ funds, depending on the sizes of their deposits.
While the proposed percentages have varied, it is becoming clear that Cyprus has few options unless an outside backer (Russia?) comes in to provide a stopgap and prevent the tax.
Many Cypriots see this as a pure money grab, better classified as a robbery than a tax, and there are worldwide concerns of bank runs on this troubling news. Cyprus banks are currently closed through Thursday, and are nearly certain to remain closed through the following Tuesday.
While it is certainly bad news for savers that your money can be seized at any time, precious metals have seen some benefit from the increase in worldwide fear, as gold is up around $10 on the week, while silver is relatively unchanged after today’s trading. We will keep you updated on any further developments.
New Products at JM Bullion
Over the past few weeks, we have significantly increased the size and scope of our precious metals inventory, allowing us to offer some new products that we will feature below.
For 2013, the Year of the Snake, we are now offering NTR Snake Silver Bars. A variety of 90% silver coins, including $10 face value bags as well as Morgan and Peace dollars, are now available in limited quantities. We also have greatly expanded our certified coin offerings, including NGC and PCGS graded silver and gold American Eagles from a variety of years and grades.
Over the next month or so we will continue to expand our inventory to offer the widest selection of precious metals products at the lowest prices anywhere.
JM Bullion
