Gold futures moved up for the sixth time in seven sessions on Monday, and closed to a more than three-month high.
Gold for December delivery settled up $8.60, or 0.7%, to $1,164.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The close was the highest since July 6 when prices climbed to $1,173.20 an ounce.
Gold, opined analysts, continues to enjoy support from lowered expectations of a Fed rate hike this year.
"The idea in the market that the Fed will lift interest rates this year is out of the market," Reuters quoted LBBW analyst Thorsten Proettel. "People aren’t expecting an interest rate hike this year, with the bad jobs data from the United States, and the problems in China."
The yellow metal traded from a low of $1,154.30 to a high of $1,168.60. Trading volume was lighter than typical with Columbus Day. Banks and the U.S. government closed Monday for the holiday. Gold prices last week advanced by 1.7% for their third weekly gain in four weeks.
Elsewhere, silver for December delivery gained a nickel, or 0.3%, to close at $15.86 an ounce. Silver prices ranged from $15.77 to $16.08, after surging 3.6% last week. Last Wednesday, the precious metal jumped to $16.09 an ounce for a 15-week high.
In PGM futures on Monday:
-
January platinum added $14.50, or 1.5%, to $995.90 an ounce, trading between $978.40 and $1,003.40.
- Palladium for December delivery fell $13.50, or 1.9%, to $694.65 an ounce, ranging from $692 to $717.70.
Last week, platinum rallied 7.9% and palladium gained 1.5%.
London Precious Metals Prices
Earlier fixed London gold and silver prices were divided. In comparing their prices from Friday PM to Monday PM:
- Gold rose $13.35, or 1.2%, to $1,164.90 an ounce.
- Silver dipped 3 cents, or 0.2%, to $15.96 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
Last week, the metals logged increases of 1% for gold, 10.8% for silver, 7.2% for platinum and 4.2% for palladium.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in October
Below is a listing of United States 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 | Sept Sales | Oct Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 13,500 | 98,500 | 13,500 | 533,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 9,000 | 2,000 | 65,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 4,000 | 20,000 | 4,000 | 146,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 20,000 | 175,000 | 20,000 | 850,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 7,000 | 22,000 | 7,000 | 177,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 1,075,000 | 3,804,500 | 1,075,000 | 37,129,500 |
| 2015 Homestead 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 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 | – | 45,000 | |
