Gold and Silver Rise Ahead of Fed Meeting, Up for Second Session

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Silver bullion bar, four gold bullion bars

Gold and silver futures rose for a second straight session Monday, ahead of this week’s highly anticipated Federal Reserve policy meeting.

Gold for February delivery gained $9.80, or 0.8%, to settle at $1,244.40 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold ranged from a low of $1,227.20 to a high of $1,251.70. In thinner trade, prices climbed as focus turns to the upcoming FOMC meeting.

"Should tapering not be announced at the December meeting, given the elevated speculative positioning to the short side, there is scope for a short-covering rally," Reuters quoted Suki Cooper, precious metals analyst at Barclays Capital.

Gold’s pick-up on Monday was a dime more than its increase on Friday. Last week, gold prices rose 0.5%.

Advancing for the fifth time in six sessions, silver for March delivery turned up 49.6 cents, or 2.5%, to $20.10 an ounce. Prices ranged from $19.45 to $20.29. Silver rose a modest 0.4% last week.

In PGM future prices on Monday:

  • January platinum shed $2.80, or 0.2%, to $1,360.10 an ounce, extending its losing streak to four sessions. It traded between $1,349.60 and $1,367.

  • Palladium for March delivery added 15 cents to $716.35 an ounce, rising for the first time since Wednesday. Palladium prices ranged from $714 to $721.60.

Last week, platinum settled up 0.5% but palladium sank 2.7%.

London Fix Precious Metals

London precious metals fixings split on the day as well. In contrasting the Friday PM to Monday PM London fix prices:

  • Gold edged up $2.75, or 0.2%, to $1,234.75 an ounce,
  • Silver dipped 5 cents, or 0.3%, to $19.50 an ounce,
  • Platinum declined $12, or 0.9%, to $1,355 an ounce, and
  • Palladium fell $6, or 0.8%, to $717 an ounce

Prices for the metals also split last week with silver gaining 0.3%, gold falling 0.1%, palladium dropping 2.4% and platinum staying unchanged.

US Mint Bullion Sales in December

Sales totals for United States Mint bullion coins were unchanged Monday as of 4:33 p.m. ET. Listed below are U.S. Mint bullion sales for the month through Dec. 16 and the year-to-date.

American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Sales (# of coins)
Monday / Week-To-Date Sales Last Week December Sales YTD Sales
$50 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins 0 11,000 30,000 720,000
$25 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins 0 0 0 58,000
$10 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins 0 4,000 4,000 122,000
$5 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins 0 0 15,000 535,000
$50 American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coins 0 4,000 5,500 237,500
White Mountain 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins Sold Out 35,000
Perry’s Victory 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins* 0 2,900 2,900 30,000
Great Basin 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins* 0 1,400 1,400 30,000
Fort McHenry 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins Sold Out 30,000
Mount Rushmore 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins Sold Out 35,000
American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins 0 800,000 1,200,000 42,675,000

 

*Perry’s Victory and Great Basin silver bullion coins sold out on Tuesday, Dec. 10. The U.S. Mint will not have America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Bullion Coins to sell until the first 2014-dated strike is released in late January.

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