Australia's Perth Mint gold sales rise in Feb, silver falls

    March 5 (Reuters) - The Perth Mint's sales of gold bars and 
coins climbed in February from the same period last year as 
bullion prices rose the most in seven months, but sales of 
silver coins fell.  
    The Perth Mint runs the only gold refinery in Australia, the 
world's second-biggest gold producer after China. 
    Sales of gold coins and minted bars rose to 47,003 ounces in 
February from 44,399.48 ounces in the year-ago period, according 
to data emailed to Reuters. 
    Silver sales fell 9 percent to 392,088 ounces last month.  
    Last year, the mint's gold sales jumped 41 percent and 
silver sales rise 33 percent as prices fell on an improving U.S. 
economy and an expected rollback of the Federal Reserve's 
stimulus measures. 
    Gold    fell 28 percent last year; it is up about 11 
percent so far this year on weaker equities.  
    The metal rose nearly 7 percent in February - its biggest 
monthly gain since July.  
 
 Period     Gold          Silver  
    Feb-14        47,003        392,088 
    Jan-14        64,818        912,388 
    Dec-14     58,943.61     845,940.53 
    Nov-13     52,700.23     807,246.05 
    Oct-13     77,255.18     821,579.77 
    Sep-13     68,488.06     961,977.07 
    Aug-13     30,430.10     691,258.63 
    Jul-13     56,488.25     697,247.39 
    Jun-13     47,692.02     593,534.52 
    May-13     88,637.82     596,458.40 
    Apr-13    112,575.40   1,113,461.36 
    Mar-13     50,356.16     408,178.52 
    Feb-13     44,399.48     431,237.41 
    Jan-13     66,669.66     676,742.40 
    Dec-12     51,777.57     452,390.35 
    Nov-12     49,004.09     623,345.46 
    Oct-12     54,779.00     465,033.74 
    Sep-12     82,066.89   1,259,702.59 
    Aug-12     37,196.86     338,945.22 
    Jul-12     34,588.36     459,270.48 
    
 Source: The Perth Mint 
 Note: Sales figures in ounces. Gold sales include coins and 
minted bars. Silver figures include only coins as the mint does 
not issue silver minted bars. 
 
 (Reporting by A. Ananthalakshmi; Editing by Tom Hogue) 
 ((ananthalakshmi.as@thomsonreuters.com)(+65 6870 3726)(Reuters 
Messaging: ananthalakshmi.as.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: PERTHMINT SALES/