Gold and silver futures logged their third straight session gains, each closing at new 3-1/2 month highs.
Gold for April delivery edged up 50 cents, or less than 0.1%, to settle at $1,258.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The close is the highest since Nov. 10 when prices ended at $1,266.40 an ounce.
"After some mild overnight weakness, traders stepped in to buy the dip in the gold market," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a report. "The near-term technical postures for all the precious metals markets continue to get more bullish, and that’s inviting more chart-based buying interest in the precious metals."
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,254.10 to a high of $1,264.90. They climbed 1.6% last week for their fourth straight weekly increase.
Meanwhile, silver for May delivery added 1.1 cents, or less than 0.1%, to settle at $18.417 an ounce. The settlement is the strongest since Nov. 10 when the precious metal closed at $18.737 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $18.35 and $18.84. They moved up 1.7% last week, scoring their eighth straight weekly win.
In other precious metals action:
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April platinum rose $10.20, or 1%, to $1,038.90 an ounce, ranging from $1,027.70 to $1,047.80.
- Palladium for June delivery advanced $12.05, or 1.6%, to $785 an ounce, trading between $769.05 and $789.70.
Last week, platinum jumped 2.3% and palladium slipped 0.8%.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London bullion prices from Friday PM to Monday PM:
- Gold added $3.55, or 0.3%, to $1,257.20 an ounce.
- Silver added 7 cents, or 0.4%, to $18.34 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
Last week in London metal prices, palladium declined 0.9% while the others logged gains of 0.9% for gold, 1.5% for silver, and 1.7% for platinum.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in 2017
U.S. Mint bullion sales posted increases of 2,000 ounces in gold coins and 326,000 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 | Jan Sales | Feb Sales | 2017 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 20,000 | 0 | 20,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 500 | 3,000 | 86,500 | 20,000 | 106,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 19,000 | 5,000 | 24,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 36,000 | 2,000 | 38,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 10,000 | 0 | 125,000 | 25,000 | 150,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 500 | 2,500 | 32,000 | 15,000 | 47,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 325,000 | 155,000 | 5,127,500 | 1,090,000 | 6,217,500 |
| 2017 Effigy Mounds 5 Oz Silver Coin | 200 | 600 | 0 | 19,500 | 19,500 |
| 2016 Shawnee 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | ||||
| 2016 Cumberland Gap 5 Oz Silver Coin* | – | ||||
| 2016 Harpers Ferry 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 100 | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 Theodore Roosevelt 5 Oz Silver Coin* | – | 800 | – | ||
| 2016 Fort Moultrie 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
