Gold and Silver End October At 5-Week Highs; US Mint Bullion Sales Improve

Most precious metals futures gained on Thursday and they all rallied for the month. Gold and silver both ended October at more than one-month highs.

Gold for December delivery tacked on $18.10, or 1.2%, to settle at $1,514.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the highest since Sept. 26.

"Gold is rallying on expectations the U.S.-China trade war will not be ending anytime soon," said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda, in a note reported by MarketWatch.

Gold futures gained 2.8% in October after dropping 3.7% in September. The yellow metal has notched a year-to-date increase of 18.2%.

Elsewhere, silver for December delivery advanced 20 cents, or 1.1%, to end at $18.067 an ounce. The close was the strongest since Sept. 25.

Silver futures surged 6.3% in October after plunging 7.3% in September. They are 16.3% higher on the year.

In PGM futures on Thursday and for the month:

• January platinum rose $3.10, or 0.3%, to finish at $933.70 an ounce, padding its gain in October to 5%.

• Palladium for December delivery fell $36.50, or 2%, to close at $1,755.60 an ounce, trimming its monthly increase to 6.6%. On Wednesday, palladium logged a record settlement of $1,792.10 an ounce.

As for the year so far, platinum is up 16.6% while palladium is up a whopping 46.6%.

London Precious Metals Prices

London precious metals prices gained on Thursday and for the month. In comparing their latest day-over-day PM prices:

• Gold rose $18.85, or 1.3%, to $1,510.95 an ounce.
• Silver added 10 cents, or 0.6%, to $18.055 an ounce.
• Platinum rose $19, or 2.1%, to $936 an ounce.

In LBMA monthly results,  advances were 1.7% for gold, 4.6% for silver, and 4% for platinum.

US Mint 2019 Bullion Sales

United States Mint American Eagle and Buffalo bullion coins posted stronger results in October than in September. In headline comparisons:

• American Eagle gold coins combined to 11,500 ounces in October, surging 109.1% from the 5,500 ounces sold in September but down 53.1% from the 24,500 ounces sold in October of last year. 2019 American Gold Eagle sales at 138,000 ounces are 37.8% lower than the 222,000 ounces delivered during the first ten months of 2018.

• American Eagle silver coins moved up by 1,110,500 ounces, rising 8.8% from September’s 1,021,000 ounces but dropping 22.3% from October 2018 sales of 1,430,000 ounces. 2019 American Silver Eagle sales at 14,400,500 ounces are 6.2% higher than the 13,565,000 ounces sold through the same period last year.

• American Buffalo gold coins rose by 3,000 ounces, registering divided results with sales 20% higher than the 2,500 ounces sold in September and 53.9% lower than sales of 6,500 ounces in October 2018. Year-to-date sales at 55,000 ounces are 52% lower than the 114,500 ounces sold during the first ten months of 2018.

• The final allotment of 2019 American Platinum Eagles sold in April with their total for the year ending at 40,000 coins. Last year’s edition topped out at 30,000 coins.

• America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Bullion Coins climbed by 18,000 units after rising by 40,200 units in September. Four of the five 2019-dated coins have now been issued and they have combined sales of 287,700 units or 1,438,500 ounces. Last year’s first four five-ounce bullion coins registered combined sales through October of 142,500 units or 712,500 ounces.

Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of coins sold during varying periods. Products with an asterisk (*) are no longer available.