Gold prices finished Monday at their strongest level since early 2013. Elsewhere, silver, platinum and palladium declined.
Gold for February delivery added $5.50, or 0.4%, to end at $1,577.40 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the highest since April 9, 2013 when gold closed at $1,586.70 an ounce.
"Safe-haven buying has been triggered by this virus in China and we’re seeing a big sell-off in equity markets … It’s mostly panic, the markets are looking at the prospect of the Chinese economy slowing down," Reuters quoted Edward Meir, analyst at ED&F Man Capital Markets.
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,575.30 to a high of $1,588.40. They rose 0.7% last week, for their fifth consecutive weekly increase.
Silver for March delivery shed 5.7 cents, or 0.3%, to settle at $18.056 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $18.04 and $18.38. They moved ahead 0.2% last week, ending Friday at their best price since Jan. 8.
In other precious metals prices on Monday:
-
April platinum declined $18.90, or 1.9%, to $991.70 an ounce, ranging from $988.20 to $1,016.40.
- Palladium for March delivery plunged $142.70, or 6.2%, to $2,173.60 an ounce, trading between $2,164.10 and $2,326.20. On Wednesday, palladium scored a record settlement of $2,335.60 an ounce.
Last week, platinum declined 1.4% while palladium surged 4.1%.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Friday PM to Monday PM:
- Gold rose $15.80, or 1%, to $1,580.10 an ounce.
- Silver jumped 46.5 cents, or 2.6%, to $18.295 an ounce.
In LBMA results last week, prices for gold climbed 0.4% while the others fell — 1.3% for silver, 0.3% for platinum, and 0.4% for palladium.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2020
United States Mint bullion sales remained unchanged according to available figures from the Mint’s website. Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint 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 | November | December | 2020 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 8,000 | 2,000 | 19,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin* | 0 | 5,000 | 0 | 13,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 14,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 5,000 | 1,500 | 10,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 463,000 | 0 | 2,298,000 |
