There is a surprising new major player in precious metals: Costco.
What’s happening:
- Costco (NASDAQ: COST) has begun selling platinum bars for the first time ever in the United States of America, adding them to their existing precious metals product line which currently consists of gold bars and silver coins
Why it matters:
- Costco has been selling out of gold bars and silver coins at a feverish pace ever since making them available, which represents a sign of significant demand for precious metals as a physical asset
By the numbers:
- During peak sales months, Costco has been selling as much as $200M USD a month in gold bars alone
- Due to the scarcity of supply of platinum bars, Costco is limiting purchases to a maximum of 5 platinum bars in a single transaction
Going deeper:
- With gold prices continuing to hit new all time highs, many publicly traded gold producers have recently been seeing a meaningful uptick in total revenue and profitability
- American precious metals exploration companies have also come in to focus in the public markets lately, with more capital beginning to flow towards promising projects amidst speculation that major mining giants might start to ramp up strategic investments into new properties
