Gold rose the most in three sessions Monday, wiping away losses from last week.
Gold for February delivery advanced $8.90, or 0.5%, to $1,714.40 an ounce on the Comex in New York. The precious metal traded through an intraday range of between $1,703.30 and $1,718.80. Gold last week dipped $7.20 or 0.4%.
Analysts are looking to the Fed’s meeting this week (on Tuesday and Wednesday) with an eye toward more stimuli, which would be bullish for gold.
"A lot of people are looking at the next Fed meeting, and the talk is that they’ll announce that they’re going to increase their bond-purchase program," Phil Streible, a senior commodity broker at R.J. O’Brien & Associates in Chicago, said in a telephone interview relayed on Bloomberg.
Other precious metals tracked gold. March silver closed at $33.377 an ounce, rising 24.6 cents or 0.7%. The white metal moved between an intraday low of $33.090 and a high of $33.495. Silver declined 0.4% last week.
PGM’s were the biggest gainers as platinum and palladium each advanced 1.0%. In breakdowns:
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Platinum for January delivery added $16.30 to $1,623.30 an ounce, ranging from $1,607.70 and $1,629.20. Platinum rose a modest 0.2% last week.
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March palladium added $6.75 to $704.75 an ounce, trading between $695.25 and $706.00. Palladium rallied 1.4% last week.
London Bullion Prices
London precious metals were higher as well. In contrasting the most recent PM fixings:
- Gold rose $11.00, or 0.7%, to $1,712.50 an ounce,
- Silver added 49.0 cents, 1.5%, to $33.34 an ounce,
- Platinum gained $22.00, or 1.4%, to $1,622.00 an ounce, and
- Palladium climbed $1.00, or 0.1%, to $699.00 an ounce
The precious metals were mixed in London last week. Palladium moved ahead 1.9% while gold fell 1.4%, silver lost 4.2% and platinum shed 0.7%.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in December
Bullion sales on Monday were limited to the U.S. Mint’s most popular coins. The one-ounce American Eagle gold coin advanced 2,500 and the American Eagle silver coin rose 300,000.
A breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion coin sales follows.
| US Mint American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Coin Sales | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday Sales | Last Week | Week-To-Date | Dec Sales | YTD 2012 | |
| $50 American Eagle Gold Coins | 2,500 | 24,500 | 2,500 | 27,000 | 621,000 |
| $25 American Eagle Gold Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 2,000 | 70,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Gold Coins | 0 | 4,000 | 0 | 4,000 | 74,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 315,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Gold Coins | 0 | 4,000 | 0 | 4,000 | 128,000 |
| American Silver Eagle Coin | 300,000 | 903,000 | 300,000 | 1,203,000 | 33,310,500 |
| America the Beautiful 5 Oz. Silver Bullion Coin Sales | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday Sales | Last Week | Week-To-Date | Dec Sales | All-Time Total | |
| 2012 El Yunque National Forest 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 2,000 | 21,900 |
| 2012 Chaco Culture National Historical Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| 2012 Acadia National Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25,400 |
| 2012 Hawai’i Volcanoes 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| 2012 Denali National Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| 2011 Olympic National Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 85,900 |
| 2011 Vicksburg National Military Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39,500 |
| 2011 Chickasaw Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29,700 |
| TOTAL | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 2,000 | 262,400 |
Sales above are in the number of coins sold. Calculate total ounces by using the weight of the coin.
