Precious metals futures advanced on Columbus Day, with gold and silver scoring consecutive gains of two and three sessions, respectively.
Gold for December delivery tacked on $10.10, or 0.8%, to settle at $1,285 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Gold and silver prices were "boosted by short covering in the futures markets and by some safe-haven buying interest amid stepped-up geopolitical worries," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a report.
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,277.70 to a high of $1,288. They shed 0.8% last week for their fourth straight weekly decline.
Elsewhere, silver for December delivery added 18.1 cents, or 1.1%, to settle at $16.971 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $16.76 and $17.03. They climbed 0.7% last week.
In other precious metals futures prices on Monday:
-
January platinum gained $1.50, or 0.2%, to $918.20 an ounce, ranging from $914.50 to $925.
- Palladium for December delivery rose $9, or 1%, to $928 an ounce, trading between $918.55 and $929.80.
Last week, platinum inched up 0.1% and palladium dropped 1.9%.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Friday PM to Monday PM:
- Gold rose $16.95, or 1.3%, to 1,278.75 an ounce.
- Silver added 29.5 cents, or 1.8%, to $16.92 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
Last week in London bullion prices, palladium rose 1.4% while the others logged declines of 1.7% for gold, 1.4% for silver, and 1% for platinum.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2017
United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged. 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 | Last Week | September | October | YTD | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1 Oz Palladium Coin* | 0 | 0 | 15,000 | 0 | 15,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,500 | 8,000 | 2,500 | 172,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 31,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 56,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 5,000 | 25,000 | 5,000 | 335,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 1,000 | 1,500 | 1,000 | 77,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 150,000 | 320,000 | 150,000 | 16,048,500 |
| 2017 Effigy Mounds 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35,000 |
| 2017 Frederick Douglass 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| 2017 Ozark Riverways 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| 2017 Ellis Island 5 Oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40,000 |
