Precious metals futures advanced to start the new trading week on Tuesday with U.S. markets closed on Monday for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday. Gold continued to rally, ending at a five-month high and extending its winning streak to seven straight sessions.
Gold for February climbed $17.30, or 1.4%, to close at $1,294.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement price is the highest since gold hit $1,296.70 an ounce on Aug. 19.
"People are rediscovering gold since there is so much uncertainty about Europe," George Gero, a New York-based precious-metal strategist at RBC Capital Markets LLC, said in a telephone interview according to Bloomberg News. "They want to safeguard against the global economic weakness."
Gold traded from a low $1,272.10 to a high of $1,297.20. Gold prices surged 5% last week for the biggest weekly gain in 1 1/2 years. The yellow metal has advanced 9.3% in January.
Silver for March delivery closed up 21 cents, or 1.2%, to $17.76 an ounce, ranging from $17.63 to $18.05. Silver prices jumped last week by 8.1%. They are up in January by 15.1%.
In rounding out the precious metals complex:
-
April platinum added $17.20, or 1.4%, to $1,286.60 an ounce, trading between $1,261.10 and $1,289.
- Palladium for March delivery surged $24.45, or 3.2%, to $778.75 an ounce, ranging from $751.40 to $783.25.
London Fix Precious Metals
Earlier fixed London precious metals moved higher as well. In comparing London bullion Fix prices from Monday PM to Tuesday PM:
- Gold rose $15, 1.2%, to $1,288.75 an ounce,
- Silver added 15 cents, or 0.9%, to $17.80 an ounce,
- Platinum turned up $3, or 0.2%, to $1,267 an ounce, and
- Palladium added $13, or 1.7%, to $778 an ounce.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in January
United States Mint silver coin sales started quickly Tuesday with the Shenandoah 5 oz. silver coin gaining 500 and the flagship American Silver Eagle surging 954,500. The Mint’s 2015-dated Silver Eagle launched a bit over a week ago, on Jan. 12. It has sales of 4,656,000. In January 2014, sales reached 4,775,000 coins.
Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of bullion coins sold on Tuesday, last week, in December, last year, and the year to date. Coins with an asterisk (*) have sold out for 2014 and 2015-dated versions have yet to be released.
American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tuesday Sales | Last Week | December Sales | 2014 Sales | January / 2015 Sales | |
$100 American Platinum Eagle Bullion Coins* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16,900 | 0 |
$50 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 23,500 | 13,000 | 415,500 | 49,500 |
$25 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 5,000 | 0 | 46,000 | 18,000 |
$10 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 10,000 | 6,000 | 118,000 | 34,000 |
$5 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 25,000 | 35,000 | 565,000 | 90,000 |
$50 American Buffalo Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 14,000 | 4,500 | 177,500 | 32,500 |
$1 American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins | 954,500 | 3,701,500 | 2.459M | 44.006M | 4.656M |
Great Smoky Mountains National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33,000 | 0 |
Shenandoah National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 500 | 0 | 1,100 | 24,400 | 500 |
Arches National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22,000 | 0 |
Great Sand Dunes 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins* | 0 | 0 | 4,000 | 21,900 | 0 |
Everglades 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins* | 0 | 0 | 7,000 | 34,000 | 0 |