Gold advanced 1.9% Tuesday after Greece secured a second bailout from the European Union.
"Gold gets a boost from the EU kicking the can down the road," Reuters quoted said Rob Kurzatkowski, senior commodity analyst at optionsXpress. "Not only does the bailout perhaps delay the inevitable (Greek bankruptcy), but it also opens the door for higher inflation across the euro zone."
Gold prices jumped $32.60 to $1,758.50 an ounce in the April futures contract on the Comex in New York. The settlement price was gold’s best since February 2. The yellow metal moved between an intraday low of $1,727.00 and a high of $1,759.00.
U.S. markets were closed Monday for Presidents Day. Last week gold was flat, rising a modest 60 cents.
Silver prices for March delivery rallied $1.213, or 3.7%, to $34.429 an ounce. Silver marked its lowest price of the day at $33.325 and its highest price at $34.465. Jim Wyckoff of Kitco News writes about silver’s near-term technicals in Tuesday’s Kitco Metals Roundup.
"March silver futures prices closed near the session high Tuesday and closed at a fresh three-month high close. Silver bulls have the overall near-term technical advantage and regained good upside near-term technical momentum Tuesday.
Bulls’ next upside price breakout objective is closing prices above solid technical resistance at the February high of $34.52 an ounce. The next downside price breakout objective for the bears is closing prices below solid technical support at last week’s low of $32.64. First resistance is seen at $34.52 and then at $35.00. Next support is seen at $34.00 and then at $33.50. Wyckoff’s Market Rating: 7.0."
PGM metals enjoyed healthy gains. Platinum prices for April delivery surged $51.00, or 3.1%, to $1,684.90 an ounce, ranging from $1,639.90 to $1,693.60. Palladium prices for March delivery soared $22.65, or 3.3%, to $710.75 an ounce, ranging from $687.50 to $714.75.
London Precious Metals
London precious metals moved higher as well, but a bit less vigorously than futures in New York. When comparing the London PM fixings between Monday and Tuesday, gold rose $15.00 to $1,748.00 an ounce, silver edged up 9.0 cents to $33.65 an ounce, platinum gained $26.00 to $1,673.00 an ounce and palladium added $15.00 to $709.00 an ounce.
U.S. Mint Bullion Coins
Sales increased for each of the U.S. Mint’s most popular bullion products, its one ounce coins. The Gold Buffalo and Gold Eagle each rose 1,000, with the latter bullion coin reaching an even 100,000 for the year. Silver Eagles added 115,000 — 10,000 short of last week’s entire (and dismal) gain. The Silver Eagles notably topped the 7 million milestone with Tuesday’s increase.
The following U.S. Mint bullion coin figures show the latest daily, monthly and year-to-date sales.
| Sales of U.S. Mint American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Coins | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Gains | Feb. Gains | YTD 2012 | |
| American Gold Eagles (1 oz.) | 1,000 | 15,500 | 100,000 |
| American Gold Eagles (1/2 oz.) | 0 | 0 | 49,000 |
| American Gold Eagles (1/4 oz.) | 0 | 2,000 | 40,000 |
| American Gold Eagles (1/10 oz.) | 0 | 0 | 85,000 |
| American Gold Buffalo Coin (1 oz.) | 1,000 | 4,500 | 18,000 |
| American Silver Eagles | 115,000 | 950,000 | 7,057,000 |
| Sales of America the Beautiful 5 Oz. Silver Bullion Coins | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Prior Weekly | Weekly Gains | All-Time Total | |
| Olympic National Park 5 oz. Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 84,600 |
| Vicksburg National Military Park 5 oz. Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 37,300 |
| Chickasaw Park 5 oz. Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 28,100 |
| TOTAL | 0 | 0 | 150,000 |
All bullion coin totals in the above tables are in the number of coins sold, not the amount of ounces. The latest five-ounce sales were provided by the U.S. Mint on Friday, January 27, 2012. The Mint does not publish daily sales figures for its five-ounce silver coins. However, since the last released date is more than three weeks past, there likely has not been new sales to report.
