However, yields on the 10-year treasury moved a bit lower, and the U.S. dollar as measured by the DXY index ended last week almost unchanged.

Demand for retail bullion products has eased. The best run dealers have caught up with the backlog of orders to ship. Premiums are likely to move lower if demand remains moderate.

The year opened with supply and demand for coins, rounds, and barspretty well balanced. Demand surged when the failure of Silicon Valley Bank awakened investors to the possibility of systemic problems among smaller and regional banks.

Add plenty of geopolitical uncertainty to the economic uncertainty, and all this points to continued demand for physical bullion.

Here are some factors to consider on the supply side, starting with the U.S. Mint. There are, unfortunately, no signs that our nation’s sovereign mint is going to start living up to its charter and produce coins in quantities “sufficient to meet public demand.”

Despite the massive spike in demand for bullion coins three years ago, the dysfunctional U.S. Mint has somehow managed to produce fewer coins.

Premiums for gold and silver Eagles are at all-time highs because of shortages caused by the Mint’s embarrassing production failures. This also contributed to demand for alternative products and put pressure under those premiums as well.

The good news is that other producers – both private firms and foreign governments – have been rising to the occasion. Most mints and refiners around the world have added significant capacity.

This week’s Market Update was authored by Money Metals Director Clint Siegner.

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