Gold futures extended their winning streak Monday to four sessions in a row, and they marked a 5-1/2-month high.
Gold for June delivery rose $3.40, or 0.3%, to end at $1,291.90 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement is the strongest since Nov. 4 when prices closed at $1,304.50 an ounce.
"Gold is going higher here," Jason Schenker, president and founder of the Prestige Economics LLC, said in a Bloomberg TV interview Monday. "We see a gradually weakening dollar on trend. Although we expect two more rate hikes this year — September, December — and four rate hikes next year, what we also think is that a lot of that’s priced in."
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,287.50 to a high of $1,297.40. Last week, they advanced 2.5%.
Meanwhile, silver for May delivery climbed less than a half cent to $18.514 an ounce, its highest settlement since ending Nov. 10 at $18.737 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $18.47 and $18.66. They tacked on 2% last week.
In PGM futures on Monday:
-
July platinum added $13.70, or 1.4%, to $991.10 an ounce, ranging from $975.60 to $993.
- Palladium declined 7.35, or 0.9%, to $788.55 an ounce, trading between $787.65 and $798.
Last week, the two metals ended divided with platinum up 1.5% and palladium down 1%.
London Precious Metals Prices
London markets shut down for Good Friday and Easter Monday holiday. The most recent PM price changes from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM had:
- Gold added $9.85, or 0.8%, to $1,284.15 an ounce.
- Silver rose 25 cents, or 1.4%, to $18.56 an ounce.
- Platinum climbed $13, or 1.4%, to $975 an ounce.
- Palladium added $13, or 1.6%, to $807 an ounce.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in 2017
U.S. Mint bullion sales were unchanged as of 4:33 p.m. ET. Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. bullion products with columns listing the number of coins sold during varying periods. Products with an asterisk (*) are no longer available.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday Sales | Last Week | Mar Sales | April Sales | 2017 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 1,000 | 16,000 | 2,500 | 126,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 1,000 | 0 | 25,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 4,000 | 2,000 | 46,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 35,000 | 5,000 | 195,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 1,000 | 8,500 | 2,000 | 57,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 125,000 | 1,615,000 | 380,000 | 8,337,500 |
| 2017 Frederick Douglass 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 2,300 | N/A | 12,000 | 12,000 |
| 2017 Effigy Mounds 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 200 | 600 | 20,300 |
