June 2013 Silver Bullion Newsletter - Silver Bullion Supply Slowly Improving

Dear Subscriber,

The good news is that the supply of silver is slowly starting to improve as physical silver demand worldwide has relented over the past few weeks. As a result, premiums for some coins have started to fall from their earlier highs.

The improving supply situation and a number of incoming shipments give us – and you as our customers - more pre-order options and decent in-stock availability. Furthermore we were able to reduce premiums on a few key silver bullion products for which we have good supplies such as Libertad coins, in-stock Maple Leafs and 100 oz JM bars.

For gold, we have introduced the 50 gram 99.99% credit card sized "CombiBars". These bars have a unique feature in that they can be split - like a chocolate bar - into smaller 1 gram mini bars.

For silver we are now able to store variable weight ~1,000 oz LBMA bars and we have enabled the bars as a Transfer-In Item allowing for storage transfer of these bars. We will start selling the 1000 oz bars – only through the storage program – in the near future.

The S.T.A.R. Storage agreement was further augmented with the inclusion of an optional Nationalization Protection Clause. The clause came about from client feedback that we gathered during the Offshore Tactics Workshop in Chile. Read more about it under point 25. Optional National Protection Clause

Disadvantages compared to 100 oz bars:

• Mass varies greatly - e.g. -100 oz to +50 oz - complicating transactions as the exact mass might not be known upon ordering or transferring.
• These heavy bars (31 kg+) will normally take two persons to carry and are difficult to lift.
• Manufacturer can be any LBMA member refinery so often you will not know in advance what brand you will receive.
• Aesthetically these bars could be heavily tarnished and not uniform.
• Liquidity in the secondary (retail) markets is not very good as these bars are not as easily tradable among smaller investors.

Advantages over 100 oz bars:

• Good delivery bars are normally readily available in large quantities.
• Premium per oz is lower and these bars always come with a serial number.

1,000 oz bars are currently available only as a Transfer-In Storage option. We will make these bars available for trading in the future as a second phase. Storage costs for these bars will be prorated based on their individual weight so a 1048.15 oz bar will have a proportionally higher storage charge compared to a 937.06 oz bar.

These bars are tax free in Singapore and you will receive a photo and a DUX inspection on each bar as we do with our standard parcel transfer-ins. However, they will not be packed in parcels as the transparent parcels are not strong enough to withstand the weight. Instead the bars will be identified by a manufacturer code, a serial number and they will have a DUX tamper proof label on the bar that links to the online DUX Inspection Results.

• The minimum local order size was reduced from 1,000 SGD to 500 SGD
• In your user profile you can now opt for the optional Nationalization Protection Clause
• Gold & Silver buyback rates have been increased on Maple Leafs
• Given the incoming shipments premiums have been reduced slightly on JM bars and Libertad coins
• American Silver Eagles, Kangaroo coins and 100 gram gold bar pre-orders are now enabled

Gold Valcambi 50 gram CombiBar [1 gram units]
These 50 gram bars comprise 50 detachable 1 gram mini bars. The gold bar is known as a CombiBar and it is designed to facilitate the gifting or of small amounts of gold, either as a 50 gram gold bar, or as a small group of 1 gram bars, or as 50 separate 1 gram gold bars.

The bars fit into wallets like credit cards and can easily be broken into “1 gram micro gold bars” with no loss of metal during separation. The CombiBar gives owners the option to split their bars precisely and easily.

• Silver Maple Leafs - Maple Leafs supply is still tight but secondary market premiums have started to ease from their peaks indicating that supply is slowly catching up. Mints are still greatly backordered but orders are fulfilled faster than new orders are coming in.
   
• Silver American Eagles - American Silver Eagle coins availability is similar to Maple Leafs. See recent comments from the mint: US Mint: Gold-Coin Demand Still at Unprecedented Levels
   
• Johnson Matthey 100 oz Poured Silver Bars - We have secured another 30,000 oz of these bars on top of the 25,000 oz shipment that had arrived. So we should be well stocked during the refinery maintenance period. We have slightly lowered premiums on these bars as the current supply is easier to obtain than 100 oz RCM bars.
   
• .9999 Royal Canadian Mint 100 oz Silver Bars - New RCM bar supply is tight. We recommend 100 oz JM bars until supply eases.
   
• Libertad Coins - These coins are now in-stock for both storage and local orders.
   
• Gold - Gold Maple Leaf supply is quite good and can be obtained reliably within normal delivery timelines.

• Perth Mint Silver Coins and Bars - 10 oz coins have been discontinued temporarily to allow for greater 1 kg and 1 oz Koala coin production, 100 oz and 1 KG silver bars production is stopped as the production line was temporarily converted to produce gold bars. Availability should return within a month or so.
   
• Perth Mint Gold Coins and Bars - Gold Kangaroo coins and 100 gram bars are available
   
• Platinum - Perth Mint Platypus Platinum coins are available for local pickup
   

If you plan to import bullion into Singapore make sure you understand what type of bullion is classified as Singapore IPM Tax Free and what type is not, so that you are not burdened with unnecessary import taxes. See IPM Criteria & Tax Free Bullion for details.

See more products and prices at www.silverbullion.com.sg.

Information provided here should not be considered as advice or as an offer or enticement to buy, sell or trade. The contents of this publication, including any opinions and analysis, are strictly intended for educational use. Opinions expressed in bylined articles are those of the individual author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Silver Bullion Pte Ltd.

Silver Bullion Pte Ltd. makes no warranties, whether expressed or implied, as to the accuracy of the information provided or for eventual results obtained by using the information. In no case shall Silver Bullion Pte Ltd. be liable for direct, indirect, or incidental damages resulting from the use of the information.

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