Precious metals on Monday moved opposite of their direction last week with gold, silver and platinum higher and palladium lower.
In thin trading, gold for February delivery turned up $5.20, or 0.4%, to $1,234.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold traded from a low of $1,224.60 to a high of $1,237.60.
"The weaker dollar is having an impact," Jonathan Guyer, a portfolio manager at Arrow Investment Advisors LLC in Olney, Maryland, which oversees $650 million, said in a telephone interview according to Bloomberg News. "Physical demand for gold has been good."
Gold prices fell last week by $21.40, 1.7%.
Silver futures recouped a portion of their 2.6% loss last week. Silver for March delivery gained 17.8 cents, or 0.9%, to settle at $19.70 an ounce. Prices ranged from $19.44 to $19.81.
In rounding out the precious metals complex on Monday:
-
January platinum rose $12.20, or 0.9%, to $1,368.50 an ounce, trading between $1,354.90 and $1,375.50.
- Palladium bucked the trend of other precious metals. Palladium for March delivery shed $1.15, or 0.2%, to $735 an ounce. It ranged from $731.05 to $740.75.
Last week, platinum fell 0.9% but palladium soared 2.3%.
London Fix Precious Metals
London bullion fixings moved slightly. In comparing the Friday PM to Monday PM London fix prices:
- Gold added $4, or 0.3%, to $1,237 an ounce,
- Silver inched up a penny to $19.50 an ounce,
- Platinum gained $6, or 0.4%, to $1,373 an ounce, and
- Palladium dipped $2, or 0.3%, to $739 an ounce
Last week, palladium advanced 2.3% but the other metals fell. Declines totaled 1.6% for gold, 2.2% for silver and 0.7% for platinum.
US Mint Bullion Sales in December
U.S. Mint bullion sales rose for American Gold Eagles, American Gold Buffalo coins and American Silver Eagles. Gains on the day for the Gold Buffalo and Silver Eagle were higher than their totals from last week. The U.S. Mint had said that today it would issue its last weekly allocation of 2013 dated American Silver Eagles.
U.S. Mint bullion sales for the week, for the month through Dec. 9, and the year-to-date are listed below.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday / Week-To-Date Sales | Last Week | December Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 2,500 | 19,000 | 21,500 | 711,500 |
| $25 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 58,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 4,000 | 0 | 4,000 | 122,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 15,000 | 15,000 | 535,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coins | 3,000 | 1,500 | 4,500 | 236,500 |
| White Mountain 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | Sold Out | 35,000 | ||
| Perry’s Victory 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27,100 |
| Great Basin 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28,600 |
| Fort McHenry 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | Sold Out | 30,000 | ||
| Mount Rushmore 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | Sold Out | 35,000 | ||
| American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins | 526,000 | 400,000 | 926,000 | 42,401,000 |
