Gold and other precious metals advanced Monday, led by silver which jumped 2.3% to close above $31 an ounce for the first time in more than three weeks.
Gold for February delivery settled up $8.80, or 0.5%, to $1,669.40 an ounce on the Comex in New York. Prices ranged from an intraday trading low of $1,659.50 to a high of $1,674.80.
"Investor risk appetite upticked modestly to start the new week, and has to a lesser degree to start the new year," Jim Wyckoff noted in the PM Kitco Metals Roundup. "It is likely that some fresh speculative money that had been on the sidelines is now starting to trickle back into risk assets like raw commodities."
Gold dropped $17.40 on Friday, though prices climbed 0.7% higher for the week after retreating in each of the previous six weeks.
March silver shot up 70.2 cents to $31.11 an ounce, ranging from $30.38 to $31.17. The settlement price was both the highest and the first time silver settled above $31 an ounce since Dec. 19. Last week the white metal also snapped a string of six weekly declines by rising 1.5%.
PGMs traded higher on Monday as well.
- Platinum for April delivery gained $27.00, or 1.7%, to settle at $1,658.20 an ounce, and
- Palladium for March delivery edged up $1.85, or 0.3%, to $703.30 an ounce.
Increases for these precious metals last week were 4.7% for platinum and 1.9% for palladium.
London Bullion Prices
London bullion moved higher in starting the week. In contrasting the latest London PM Fix prices:
- Gold climbed $9.00, or 0.5%, to $1,666.50 an ounce,
- Silver inched up 9.0 cents, or 0.3%, to $30.76 an ounce,
- Platinum gained $32.00, or 2.0%, to $1,658.00 an ounce, and
- Palladium rose $12.50, or 1.8%, to $706.00 an ounce
Advances last week were 0.6% for gold, 4.6% for silver, 4.4% for platinum and 0.7% for palladium.
Sales of US Mint Bullion Coins
U.S. Mint authorized distributors on Monday purchased every type of American Eagle and American Buffalo bullion coin.
Gold Eagle sales advanced 13,000 troy ounces across the four sizes for a new monthly total of 110,5000 troy ounces. January sales remain on pace to surpass the top two months in 2012 — January’s 127,000 ounces and November’s 136,500 ounces.
Silver Eagle sales rose 300,000 to 5,082,000 for the month. The only two higher months in the coin’s 27-year history were in January 2011 at 6,422,000 and in January 2012 at 6,107,000.
American Buffalo bullion coins went up 3,000 to 39,500 for January, the highest total for a month since May 2010.
Daily and year-to-date bullion sales follow.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Coin Sales | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday Sales | Last Week | Week-To-Date Sales | 2013 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 10,500 | 27,500 | 10,500 | 91,000 |
| $25 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 1,000 | 3,000 | 1,000 | 13,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 2,000 | 4,000 | 2,000 | 18,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 15,000 | 20,000 | 15,000 | 85,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coins | 3,000 | 22,000 | 3,000 | 39,500 |
| American Eagle Silver Coin* | 300,000 | 4,782,000 | 300,000 | 5,082,000 |
| America the Beautiful 5 Oz. Silver Bullion Coin Sales | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday Sales | Last Week | Week-To-Date Sales | All-Time Sales | |
| 2012 El Yunque National Forest 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21,900 |
| 2012 Chaco Culture National Historical Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| 2012 Acadia National Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25,400 |
| 2012 Hawai’i Volcanoes 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| 2012 Denali National Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| 2011 Olympic National Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 5,700 | 0 | 91,600 |
| 2011 Vicksburg National Military Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 1,700 | 0 | 41,200 |
| 2011 Chickasaw Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 1,700 | 0 | 31,400 |
| TOTAL | 0 | 9,100 | 0 | 271,500 |
Coin sales figures shown above are in the number of coins sold. Calculate total ounces by using the bullion coin’s weight.
