Gold starts the week at just under $1,350 per ounce. Silver around $29.30

The Gold and Silver blogosphere and newsletter world, which took Januarys unpleasantness in the precious metals markets so badly, seems to be showing signs of becoming more positive of late. We had said before that given the fundamentals of precious metals, that it seemed unusual that this group of Gold watchers sentiment seemed to trade below Gold and Silver during the recent price correction. Whilst this is purely anecdotal, we can at least see in more concrete terms that with the Gold price at $1350 and Silver at $29.30, the prophecies of sudden and imminent collapse did not materialise in January.

At BullionSupermarket.com last week, buyers of physical metal appeared reluctant to buy with gusto, as on solid bidding numbers, few buyers were prepared to pay the hefty premiums being asked for branded gold and silver bullion bars, and therfore missed out to others.

Some signs of a slight easing in the supply situation appeared as premiums of fixed price bullion appeared to ease slightly. 1 oz Gold bars in the United States trade currently at 16.3% premium down from the recent peaks we have seen of 18% and 19%. In the United Kingdom 1 oz Gold Bars are priced at 20.1% premium. On the Silver prices side, 1 oz Silver Bars in the United States are asking 67% premium over Silver, and in the UK 1 oz Silver Bars are asking 82.8% premium, still indicating supply problems.