Gold on Monday gained the most this month, rebounding from a seven-month low and a week in which prices fell 2.3%.
Gold futures for April delivery climbed $13.80, or 0.9%, to settle at $1,586.60 an ounce on the Comex in New York. Gold traded between intraday levels of $1,574.70 and $1,594.00.
Bullish news for the day included an IMF report noting January increases in gold reserves for central banks in Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkey and Azerbaijan.
"Central bank buying remains a feature and is providing some support," Steve Scacalossi, a New York-based vice president at TD Securities Inc., said in an e-mail according to Bloomberg. "We are also hearing of strong Chinese demand at lower levels."
In other New York precious metals futures on Monday:
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Silver for March delivery jumped 52.7 cents, or 1.9%, to $28.987 an ounce, ranging from $28.540 to $29.215.
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April platinum added $13.30, or 0.8%, to $1,620.70 an ounce, trading between $1,597.70 and $1,630.80.
- Rising for a second straight session, palladium for March delivery surged $13.75, or 1.9%, to settle at $749.05 an ounce. The precious metal ranged from a low of $734.75 to a high of $752.35.
Last week these precious metals logged heavy losses of 4.7% for silver, 4.2% for platinum and 2.4% for palladium.
London Precious Metals
Palladium in London surged for a second day. Other precious metals advanced as well. In contrasting the Friday PM to Monday PM London Fix prices:
- Gold added $9.75, or 0.6%, to $1,586.25 an ounce,
- Silver gained 38.0 cents, or 1.3%, to $29.17 an ounce,
- Platinum rose $9.00, or 0.6%, to $1,620.00 an ounce, and
- Palladium advanced $16.00, or 2.2%, to $748.00 an ounce
London precious metals fell last week. Declining were 2.2% for gold, 4.6% for silver, 3.9% for platinum and 2.9% for palladium.
US Bullion Coin Sales in February
U.S. Mint bullion sales on Monday were limited to American Silver Eagle coins. The 99.9% pure silver coins advanced 485,000 on the day to top 3 million for the month to date. In contrast, 1.49 million sold in February 2012.
Bullion sales figures by U.S. Mint product follow.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Coin Sales | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday Sales | Last Week | Week-To-Date Sales | Feb Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 14,000 | 0 | 52,000 | 176,500 |
| $25 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 4,000 | 21,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 6,000 | 0 | 10,000 | 34,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 35,000 | 0 | 65,000 | 175,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 6,000 | 0 | 9,000 | 81,500 |
| American Silver Eagle Coins | 485,000 | 903,000 | 485,000 | 3,031,500 | 10,529,500 |
| America the Beautiful 5 Oz. Silver Bullion Coin Sales | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday Sales | Last Week | Week-To-Date | Feb Sales | All-Time Sales | |
| 2012 El Yunque National Forest 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 1,600 | 0 | 2,100 | 24,000 |
| 2012 Chaco Culture National Historical Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 1,200 | 0 | 1,800 | 21,800 |
| 2012 Acadia National Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25,400 |
| 2012 Hawai’i Volcanoes 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| 2012 Denali National Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| 2011 Olympic National Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 104,900 |
| 2011 Vicksburg National Military Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2,200 | 45,700 |
| 2011 Chickasaw Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 3,800 | 0 | 3,740 | 39,400 |
| TOTAL | 0 | 6,600 | 0 | 9,840 | 301,200 |
The Chaco Culture silver coin total declined 400 last Monday. Negative adjustments were previously made across the Chickasaw silver coin.
All bullion figures above are in the number of coins sold. Calculate total ounces by using the bullion coin’s weight.
In weekly U.S. Mint coin news, the bureau on Wednesday reduced prices on some if its gold coins but it also published upcoming premium increases. Finally, design candidates are available for next year’s circulating quarters and America the Beautiful 5 oz. silver coins.
All this news is just amazing and can be found everywhere. Wonder why a site that is supposed to provide information regarding coins cannot provide sales info. Anyone have a clue as to the final sales on the Acadia 5 oz SP coin other than maybe less than or = to 15 K? Or is that a realllly big secret?
Looks like 25,400, according to the chart above.