Precious metals futures rebounded Tuesday. Palladium and platinum rose slightly while silver and gold posted sharper gains.
Gold for April delivery tacked on $15.30, or 1.2%, to settle at $1,335.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement is the highest since Feb. 16.
"As a result of the weaker dollar, gold — together with oil and industrial metals — has benefited from the North Korean news," Reuters quoted Saxo Bank’s Ole Hansen. "This (is) despite the potential for lowering the geopolitical risk should we move towards a denuclearized Korean peninsular."
Gold futures traded from a low of $1,320.80 to a high of $1,339.90. They declined 0.3% on Monday.
Silver for May delivery surged 37.2 cents, or 2.3%, to settle at $16.784 an ounce. Silver futures ranged from $16.41 to $16.90. They declined 0.3% on Monday.
In rounding out precious metals dealings:
-
April platinum rose $8.50, or 0.9%, to $970.60 an ounce, trading between $960.80 and $976.30.
- Palladium for June delivery settled up 80 cents, or less than 0.1%, to $978.30 an ounce, ranging from $968.55 to $987.80.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Monday PM to Tuesday PM:
- Gold added $11, or 0.8%, to $1,331.40 an ounce.
- Silver added 11 cents, or 0.7%, to $16.62 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2018
U.S. Mint bullion sales were unchanged Tuesday. On Monday, the agency’s American Gold and Silver Eagles logged their first gains of the month.
Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of coins sold during varying periods.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday | Last Week | This Week / March | February | 2018 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 | 20,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 2,500 | 5,000 | 43,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 10,000 | 5,000 | 95,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 500 | 0 | 2,500 | 26,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 237,500 | 165,000 | 942,500 | 4,342,500 |
| Pictured Rocks 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 20,000 | 0 | 20,000 | 20,000 |
Looks like platinum and palladium are heading for a virtual photo finish!
Will it be a Winter-Olympic-style bobsled run tie for the Gold or Silver medal? 🙂