Precious metals ushered in gains to start the new trading week on Monday, with increases ranging from 0.4% for gold to 2.1% for palladium. Gold and silver finished the day at their highest prices in over two weeks.
Gold for April delivery — the new, most-active contract — climbed by $8.50 to settle at $2,044.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the highest since Jan. 12 when gold ended at $2,051.60 an ounce.
"Gold and silver prices are mildly higher in midday U.S. trading Monday, but down from daily highs, on some safe-haven buying after a terrorist strike in Jordan killed three U.S. soldiers," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, said in a daily research note.
Gold futures traded between $2,037.70 and $2,056.20. They slipped by 0.6% last week.
Up for the fourth time in five sessions, silver for March delivery advanced by 37.9 cents, or 1.7%, to end $23.251 an ounce. Similar to gold, the closing price of silver was its highest since Jan. 12. Silver prices ranged from $22.88 to $23.34. They edged 0.7% higher last week.
In other precious metals prices on Monday:
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April platinum added $17, or 1.9%, to $938.30 an ounce, trading between $916 and $938.70.
- Palladium for March delivery added $19.80 to $981.20 an ounce, ranging from $947 to $984.
Last week, platinum rose by 1.6% and prices for palladium increased by 1.3%.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2024
The U.S. Mint last updated its bullion sales figures on Thursday, Jan. 25, reporting gains that included 13,500 ounces of American Gold Eagles, 25,000 ounces of American Silver Eagles, and 2,500 ounces of American Gold Buffalos.
The table below presents a breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products sold, with columns indicating the number of coins sold (not total ounces) during different time periods.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Last Week | November | December | 2023 Sales | January | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 11,000 | 40,000 | 15,000 | 924,000 | 71,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 1,000 | 6,000 | 1,000 | 102,000 | 22,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 4,000 | 16,000 | 0 | 198,000 | 40,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 10,000 | 55,000 | 15,000 | 675,000 | 90,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,500 | 14,000 | 5,500 | 387,000 | 38,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 25,000 | 2,378,000 | 525,000 | 24,750,000 | 4,900,000 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12,700 | 0 |
