Gold and silver futures each scored two-week highs in their start to the holiday-shortened trading week. Their gains were supported by a weaker U.S. dollar, opined analysts.
Gold for February delivery added $15.60, or 1.5%, to settle at $1,080.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the highest since Friday, Dec. 4.
"What happens in the U.S. doesn’t erase what’s happening in the rest of the world, where there is still accommodative monetary policy which should be good for gold," Bloomberg News quoted Simona Gambarini, a London-based analyst at Capital Economics Ltd. "There are a lot of risks out there and so there’s a need for diversification into gold at a central bank level and retail level."
Gold prices ranged from a low of $1,063.10 to a high of $1,081.40. They slipped 1% last week, their eighth weekly decline in nine weeks.
Silver for March delivery advanced 21.9 cents, or 1.6%, to settle at $14.315 an ounce. The close was the highest since Monday, Dec. 7. Silver prices traded between $14.04 and $14.33. They climbed last week by 1.5%.
In other precious metals futures:
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January platinum gained $20.50, or 2.4%, to $881.30 an ounce, ranging from $855.50 to $882.10.
- Palladium for March delivery lost $5.55, or 1%, to $553.40 an ounce, trading between $550.30 and $562.
Last week, platinum settled up 2% and palladium moved up 2.6%.
London Precious Metals Prices
Earlier fixed London gold and silver prices gained as well. In comparing their levels from Friday PM to Monday PM:
- Gold added $16.25, or 1.5%, to $1,078.75 an ounce.
- Silver added 38 cents, or 2.8%, to $14.20 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
Last week, gold shed 0.9% and silver fell 0.7% while platinum tacked on 1.9% and palladium gained 1.8%.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales
United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged Monday. Expect only modest coin gains in the next few weeks with 2015 sellouts in the most popular American Gold Eagles and all silver coins. New 2016-dated bullion editions launch on Jan. 11.
Below is a listing of U.S. Mint bullion products with the number of coins sold during varying periods. Products with an asterisk (*) are no longer available.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday Sales | Last Week | Nov Sales | Dec Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins* | N/A | N/A | 80,500 | N/A | 626,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 7,000 | 1,000 | 75,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins* | N/A | N/A | 12,000 | N/A | 158,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins* | N/A | N/A | 100,000 | N/A | 980,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 1,000 | 38,000 | 1,500 | 220,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins* | N/A | 1,130,000 | 4,824,000 | 2,333,500 | 47,000,000 |
| 2015 Homestead 5 Oz Silver Coins* | N/A | 35,000 | |||
| 2015 Kisatchie 5 Oz Silver Coins* | 42,000 | ||||
| 2015 Blue Ridge Parkway 5 Oz Silver Coins* | 45,000 | ||||
| 2015 Bombay Hook 5 Oz Silver Coins* | 45,000 | ||||
| 2015 Saratoga 5 Oz Silver Coins* | N/A | 35,800 | 9,200 | 45,000 | |
