Precious metals futures gained together for a second straight day Tuesday, ahead of the Christmas holiday break on Wednesday. Gold and silver each finished at seven-week highs.
Gold for February delivery tacked on $16.10, or 1.1%, to settle at $1,504.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the highest since Nov. 4.
"Gold prices pushed back above the psychologically important $1,500.00 level. Heading into the holidays and the end of the year, the safe-haven metals bulls are much more confident as the technical postures for gold and silver have turned positive," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a daily research note. "Importantly, other raw commodity markets are perking up, including the grains, softs markets and crude oil."
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,488.10 to a high of $1,505. They gained 0.5% on Monday.
Silver for March delivery jumped 35.4 cents, or 2%, to close at $17.853 an ounce. The settlement was also the highest since Nov. 4. Silver futures traded between $17.42 and $17.87. The rose 1.6% on Monday.
In other precious metals futures prices Tuesday:
-
January platinum added $4.40, or 0.5%, to $942.80 an ounce, ranging from $928.90 to $948.20.
- Palladium for March delivery edged up $2.80, or 0.2%, to $1,851.80 an ounce, trading between $1,830 and $1,863.30.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Monday PM to Tuesday PM:
- Gold was unchanged at $1,482.10 an ounce.
- Silver gained 21 cents, or 1.2%, to $17.585 an ounce.
US Mint 2019 Bullion Sales
United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged. Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of coins sold during varying periods. Products with an asterisk (*) are no longer available.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday / This Week | Last Week | November | December | 2019 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 1,500 | 8,000 | 2,000 | 108,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin* | 0 | 0 | 5,000 | 0 | 30,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 38,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 195,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 1,500 | 5,000 | 1,500 | 61,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 463,000 | 0 | 14,863,500 |
| Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 20,000 | 5,000 | 25,000 |
| San Antonio Missions 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 55,200 |
| War in the Pacific 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 72,500 |
| American Memorial Park 5 Oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 80,000 |
| Lowell 5 Oz Silver Coin* | N/A | 80,000 | |||
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin* | N/A | 40,000 | |||
