Gold and silver futures notched a second straight day of gains Tuesday after falling for two in a row. Both metals closed at about 12-week highs.
Gold for February delivery rose $14.90, or 1.4%, to settle at $1,120.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The close was the highest since Nov. 2 when prices ended at $1,135.90 an ounce.
"Fundamentals continue to turn more favorable with lower bond yields, a slowing pace of U.S. rate hikes and under invested funds all supporting the move higher," Reuters quoted Saxo Bank’s head of commodity research Ole Hansen.
Gold prices ranged from a low of $1,107.20 to a high of $1,121.50. On Monday, they tacked on $9 or 0.8%.
Silver for March delivery jumped 31 cents, or 2.2%, to end at $14.564 an ounce. The settlement was the highest since Nov. 6 when prices ended at $14.69 an ounce. Silver prices traded from $14.22 to $14.58. They gained 19.7 cents, or 1.4%, in the previous session.
In PGM futures on Tuesday:
-
April platinum added $15.40, or 1.8%, to $876.90 an ounce, ranging from $855.30 to $880.50.
- Palladium for March delivery gained $1.60, or 0.3%, to $492.75 an ounce, trading between $487.95 and $501.85.
London Precious Metals Prices
Earlier fixed London gold and silver prices advanced as well. In comparing their levels from Monday PM to Tuesday PM:
- Gold added $7, or 0.6%, to $1,113.60 an ounce.
- Silver added 11 cents, or 0.8%, to $14.33 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2016
United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged as of 3:41 p.m. ET. They posted solid gains on Monday. Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of bullion coins sold during varying periods. Products with an asterisk (*) have sold out.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday | Last Week | This Week | Dec Sales | January / 2016 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 24,500 | 3,000 | N/A | 80,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 6,000 | 0 | 1,000 | 20,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 6,000 | 0 | N/A | 32,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 45,000 | 5,000 | N/A | 140,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 5,000 | 1,500 | 1,500 | 30,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 1,000,000 | 727,000 | 2,333,500 | 5,727,000 |
| 2015 Homestead 5 Oz Silver Coins* | N/A | N/A | |||
| 2015 Kisatchie 5 Oz Silver Coins* | |||||
| 2015 Blue Ridge Parkway 5 Oz Silver Coins* | |||||
| 2015 Bombay Hook 5 Oz Silver Coins* | |||||
| 2015 Saratoga 5 Oz Silver Coins* | N/A | 9,200 | |||
