Prices for precious metals soared Tuesday, led by a 4.6% increase in silver which also notched an eight-month settlement high.
Marking a one-week high, gold for February delivery advanced $27.70, or 1.5%, to end at $1,825.40 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Gold and silver prices are sharply higher in early U.S. trading Tuesday, supported by a solid drop in the U.S. dollar index. There is also some safe-haven demand for gold and silver following a surprise policy move by a major central bank [tightening by the Bank of Japan] that rattled the marketplace," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, said in a daily research note.
Gold futures traded between $1,793.70 and $1,832.40. They dipped 0.1% on Monday. Last Tuesday, gold at $1,825.50 an ounce — a dime more than today — marked its best settlement since June 24.
Silver for March delivery surged $1.07 to close at $24.271 an ounce. The settlement was the highest since April 21. Silver futures ranged from $23.05 to $24.38. They gave back 0.6% on Monday.
In other precious metals prices Tuesday:
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January platinum added $25.30, or 2.6%, to $1,013 an ounce, trading between $979 and $1,019.80.
- Palladium for March delivery jumped $68.60, or 4.1%, to $1,733.50 an ounce, ranging between $1,646.50 and $1,744.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2022
Published United States Mint bullion sales last changed on Nov. 21. 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) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December | July | August | September | October | November | 2022 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 59,500 | 47,500 | 47,500 | 59,500 | 6,000 | 846,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 5,000 | 2,000 | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 75,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 4,000 | 4,000 | 2,000 | 0 | 140,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 20,000 | 20,000 | 15,000 | 15,000 | 0 | 575,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 39,500 | 22,500 | 44,500 | 39,500 | 4,500 | 410,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 850,000 | 850,000 | 833,000 | 1,258,000 | 1,407,000 | 15,904,500 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 15,500 | 1,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 80,000 |
Silver and gold had good gains today. We’ll see if silver gains the .58cents to finally reach $25.