Gold Advances Modestly, Silver Prices Hit 6-Week High

U.S. gold prices rose slightly on Monday while other metals, silver and palladium specifically, soared.

April gold prices rose $4.70, or 0.3 percent, to $1,365.10 an ounce on the Comex in New York. Prices hit an intraday low of $1,354.40 an ounce and reached a high of $1,367.50 an ounce.

"There was a lot of commodities and metals buying this morning. Both silver and palladium, which have stronger fundamentals, are way ahead in the pack among the precious metals," Miguel Perez-Santalla, vice president of Heraeus Precious Metals Management, said and was quoted on Reuters. "As for silver, it was primarily driven by industrial demand on expectations of strong consumption."

Silver prices for March delivery surged 53.9 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $30.534 an ounce — its best closing level since January 3. Silver ranged from between $29.790 and $30.720.

Platinum prices for April delivery advanced $14.10, or 0.8 percent, to $1,827.60 an ounce. Prices ranged from a low of $1,810.10 to a high of $1,837.00.

Palladium prices for March delivery soared $18.10, or 2.2 percent, to $832.80 an ounce. It ranged between $814.00 and $836.00.

In PM London precious metals prices, the gold fixing was $1,365.00 an ounce for a pick-up of $1 from the previous PM fixing. The London Silver Fix was $30.16 an ounce, up 16 cents. The platinum fixing added $1.00 to $1,830.00 and the palladium fixing climbed $2.00 to $824.00 an ounce.

United States Mint authorized buyers spent their dollars on Monday. The one-ounce American Gold Eagles rose 1,000. The smallest fractional one-tenth ounce size surged ahead 20,000, nearly equaling how many had been sold since the start of the year. Bullion American Silver Eagles again took the lead, jumped 719,000 for the day and rising atop 8 million for the year.