Gold, silver and platinum advanced for a second straight session Tuesday while palladium turned around from losses on Monday.
Gold for February delivery rallied $26.90, or 2.2%, to close at $1,261.10 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The gain was the biggest since Oct. 17. Gold prices ranged from a low of $1,237.40 to a high of $1,267.50. They inched up 0.4%, in the prior session after falling 1.7% last week.
"The dollar has weakened, so that is helping gold," Melek said in a telephone interview according to Bloomberg News. "We had seen some aggressive short positions being taken. Some of that is being taken off as many people feel that gold isn’t dropping into the precipice. It’s no longer a one-way bet."
"Perhaps gold prices had become too low for traders to avoid," MarketWatch quoted Jonathan Citrin, founder and executive chairman at CitrinGroup.
Silver for March delivery shot up 61.4 cents, or 3.1%, to finish at $20.32 an ounce. It traded from $19.74 to $20.43. Silver prices in the previous session advanced 0.9% after tumbling 2.6% last week.
In PGM futures on Tuesday:
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January platinum tacked on $20.20, or 1.5%, to $1,388.70 an ounce, ranging from $1,369.50 to $1,400.30. It climbed $12.20, or 0.9%, in the prior session.
- Palladium for March delivery added $3.45, or 0.5%, to $738.45 an ounce, trading between $733.20 and $744.90. On Monday, palladium slipped $1.15, or 0.2%.
London Fix Precious Metals
London bullion fixings moved higher as well. In comparing the Monday PM to Tuesday PM London fix prices:
- Gold gained $29.25, or 2.4%, to $1,266.25 an ounce,
- Silver turned up 55 cents, or 2.8%, to $20.05 an ounce,
- Platinum added $20, or 1.5%, to $1,393 an ounce, and
- Palladium edged up $4, or 0.5%, to $743 an ounce
US Mint Bullion Sales in December
Sales totals for United States Mint bullion products were unchanged Tuesday as of 4:26 p.m. ET. U.S. Mint bullion sales for the week so far, for the month through Dec. 10, and the year-to-date are listed below.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday Sales | Last Week | Week-To-Date Sales | December Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 19,000 | 2,500 | 21,500 | 711,500 |
| $25 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 58,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 4,000 | 4,000 | 122,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 15,000 | 0 | 15,000 | 535,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 1,500 | 3,000 | 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 | 0 | 400,000 | 526,000 | 926,000 | 42,401,000 |
In numismatic coin news, a sellout happened late Monday for the 2013-W Proof Gold Buffalo. Its latest sales of 18,555 mark a new mintage low for the one-ounce coins.
