Precious metals futures settled ahead Monday. Gold’s second straight daily gain lifted it above $1,300 an ounce and for its highest close in about one and a half weeks.
Gold for June delivery rose $6.30, or 0.5%, to close at $1,301.90 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The finish was the highest since March 27.
"There’s a little bit of easing risk appetite, the U.S. dollar is weak and we saw Chinese central bank’s acquisition of gold for a fourth month. A combination of all these factors have moved gold into the $1,300s," Reuters quoted Bart Melek, head of commodity strategies at TD Securities in Toronto.
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,295.50 to a high of $1,307.90. They shed 0.2% last week.
Silver for May delivery settled up 13 cents, or 0.9%, to $15.216 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $15.07 and $15.28, Like gold, they declined last week by 0.2%.
In other precious metals futures Monday:
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July platinum rose $7.50, or 0.8%, to settle at $912.90 an ounce, ranging from $905.10 to $920.40.
- Palladium for June delivery added $7.20, or 0.5%, to $1,353.10 an ounce, trading between $1,335.20 and $1,364.30.
The pair last week logged respective gains of 6% and 0.3%.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Friday PM to Monday PM
- Gold rose $11.55, or 0.9%, to $1,300 an ounce.
- Silver declined 5.5 cents, or 0.4%, to $15.14 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
In LBMA results last week, silver gained 0.6% and platinum jumped 6.2% while gold fell 0.5% and platinum declined 2.7%.
US Mint 2019 Bullion Sales
United States Mint bullion sales moved up by 500 ounces in American Gold Eagles and by 500 ounces in American Gold Buffalos.
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) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Last Week | February | March | April | 2019 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 1,100 | 2,400 | 4,000 | 1,100 | 34,600 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 500 | 2,000 | 11,000 | 8,500 | 2,500 | 66,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 0 | 17,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 4,000 | 2,000 | 26,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 5,000 | 10,000 | 15,000 | 5,000 | 120,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 500 | 3,000 | 6,000 | 5,500 | 3,500 | 38,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 550,000 | 2,157,500 | 850,000 | 550,000 | 7,575,000 |
| Lowell 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | N/A | 80,000 | 0 | 80,000 |
