Gold Bars Are Flying 11,000 Miles to New York to Ease Supply Squeeze

  • Australia’s Perth Mint has ramped up production of kilobars
  • Strong retail demand for gold, silver coins amid virus worries

Gold bars sit in a vault at the Perth Mint Refinery.

Photographer: Bloomberg/Bloomberg
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Australia’s largest gold refinery has ramped up production of one kilogram bars to ease the supply squeeze in the U.S. that helped propel a surge in the premium for New York futures.

The collapse in air travel that’s grounded passenger jets -- frequently used to transport gold products -- and virus-related disruptions to some refining capacity has tightened availability of the rectangular bars, typically used to settle the Comex futures contracts.