Gold extended its winning sessions to four and silver to six in solid out of the gate gains to start the new trading week Monday.
Gold for April delivery settled up $11.80, or 0.9%, to $1,274.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The closing price was the highest since Nov. 15.
"Gold is looking to challenge the $1,280 area, gaining some support from a weaker dollar… but the market is cautious as it awaits Yellen’s testimony," Reuters quoted Societe Generale analyst Robin Bhar said.
"Some of the soft economic reports in the U.S. may mean that the Fed will hold off easing further in the March meeting but all depends on data flows between now and then."
Janet Yellen on Tuesday will testify before Congress for the first time since taking over as chair of the Federal Reserve.
Gold traded from a low of $1,264.70 to a high of $1,277.80. Last week, the precious metal advanced 1.9%.
Silver tracked gold with the futures contract for March delivery up 18 cents, or 0.9%, to $20.11 an ounce. The white metal ranged from $19.96 to $20.28. Silver prices soared last week by 4.3%.
In PGM futures prices on Monday:
-
April platinum added $6.70, or 0.5%, to $1,385.90 an ounce, trading between $1,379.10 and $1,394.60. Platinum has gained for three consecutive sessions.
- Palladium for March delivery rose $7.95, or 1.1%, to $716.75 an ounce, ranging from $708.85 to $722.25.
Last week, platinum added 0.3% and palladium climbed 0.8%.
London Fix Precious Metals
Earlier fixed London precious metals also advanced on the day. In contrasting the London fix prices from Friday PM to Monday PM:
- Gold jumped $17.75, or 1.4%, to $1,277 an ounce,
- Silver surged 33 cents, or 1.7%, to $20.20 an ounce,
- Platinum added $11, or 0.8%, to $1,390 an ounce, and
- Palladium rose $10, or 1.4%, to $721 an ounce
Last week, platinum slipped 0.2% while other fixings registered gains of 0.7% for gold, 2.9% for silver and 0.6% for palladium.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in February
Four of six U.S. Mint bullion products notched sales increases on Monday with Gold Eagles up by 4,000 ounces, Gold Buffalo coins rising by 3,000 and Silver Eagles advancing by 592,000. With the day’s gains, Silver Eagle sales have topped 6.2 million for the year. While the pace is down from last year, it is interesting to note that the level already exceeds the annual totals in ten other years since the series was introduced in 1986.
Below is a current sales breakdown across all United States Mint bullion products.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday Sales | Sales Last Week | Feb Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 2,000 | 2,000 | 4,000 | 66,500 |
| $25 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 2,000 | 14,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 8,000 | 8,000 | 36,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 20,000 | 10,000 | 30,000 | 190,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coins | 2,000 | 5,000 | 7,000 | 48,500 |
| American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins | 592,000 | 850,000 | 1,442,000 | 6,217,000 |
