Precious metals kicked of the new trading week with gains on Monday. Gold and silver marked another round of settlement highs — 11 months for the former and 1.5 months for the latter. For a moment and for the first time in over a year, gold prices also topped $2,000 an ounce.
Gold for April delivery rose $9.30, or 0.5%, to end at $1,982.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was another best since April 18. Gold futures traded between $1,970 and $2,014.90 — the highest intraday price since March 10, 2022.
"Some normal profit-taking pressure and chart consolidation are seen on the price pullbacks," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, said in a daily research note. Still, safe-haven demand for the metals is present in a shaky general marketplace amid the U.S. and European banking crisis.
Gold prices soared 5.7% last week.
Meanwhile, silver for May delivery moved up 18.4 cents, or 0.8%, to close at $22.646 an ounce. The settlement was another high since Feb. 2. Silver futures ranged from $22.35 and $22.86. They rallied last week by 9.5%.
In other precious metals prices on Monday:
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April platinum advanced $18.20, or 1.9%, to $996.80 an ounce, trading between $969.50 and $1,008.20.
- Palladium for June delivery added $14.50, or 1.1%, to $1,400.60 an ounce, ranging from $1,374.50 to $1,424.
Last week, platinum gained 1.7% and palladium rose 1.8%.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2023
Published United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged on Monday. 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 | January Sales | February | March | 2023 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 39,500 | 118,000 | 41,500 | 50,000 | 209,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 37,000 | 8,000 | 1,000 | 46,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 8,000 | 62,000 | 12,000 | 10,000 | 84,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 115,000 | 85,000 | 10,000 | 210,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 14,500 | 59,000 | 19,500 | 19,000 | 97,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 3,949,000 | 900,000 | 450,000 | 5,299,000 |
