Precious metals futures closed mostly higher in their start to the fresh trading week on Monday. Gold advanced for the first time in five sessions as U.S. stocks declined.
Gold for April delivery climbed $4.90, or 0.4%, to settle at $1,196 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement is the highest since Wednesday, Jan. 25.
"Gold prices ended the U.S. day session moderately higher on a corrective rebound from recent selling pressure that saw prices hit a three-week low last Friday," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a report. "A lower U.S. dollar index on this day also aided the precious metals market bulls. There was even a bit of safe-haven demand seen in the gold market."
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,190 to a high of $1,201.30. They fell 1.4% last week for their first weekly loss in five weeks.
Ending higher for a second session in a row, silver for March delivery moved up 1.6 cents, or nearly 0.1%, to settle at $17.152 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $17.08 and $17.30. They advanced 0.6% last week, for their fourth weekly gain.
In other precious metals dealings on Monday:
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April platinum tacked on $10.20, or 1%, to $993.50 an ounce, ranging from $978.20 to $995.10.
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Palladium for March delivery changed little, sliding 15 cents to settle at $738.45 an ounce. The metal traded between $726.10 and $742.90.
Their prices were mixed last week — platinum gained 0.8% while palladium dived 6.3%.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London bullion prices from Friday PM to Monday PM:
- Gold rose $7.95, or 0.7%, to $1,192.80 an ounce.
- Silver gained 40 cents, or 2.4%, to $17.10 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
Last week, platinum rose 0.2% while the other metal prices declined by 1.3% for gold, 1.1% for silver and 5.1% for palladium.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in 2017
United States Mint bullion sales advanced on Monday by 4,500 ounces in gold coins and 80,000 ounces in silver coins.
Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. 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) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday Sales | Last Week | Dec Sales | Jan Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 20,000 | – | 20,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 3,000 | 10,000 | 23,000 | 83,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 1,000 | 3,000 | 19,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 2,000 | 36,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 5,000 | 25,000 | 40,000 | 125,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 1,000 | 4,000 | 12,500 | 31,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 80,000 | 325,000 | 240,000 | 4,977,500 |
| 2016 Shawnee 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | |||
| 2016 Cumberland Gap 5 Oz Silver Coin* | – | |||
| 2016 Harpers Ferry 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 100 | 0 |
| 2016 Theodore Roosevelt 5 Oz Silver Coin* | – | 0 | 800 | – |
| 2016 Fort Moultrie 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
