Gold prices settled higher to start the new trading week on Monday, marking a gain for the first time in five sessions.
Gold for June delivery tacked on $8.20, or 0.6%, to close at $1,295.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold prices ranged from a low of $1,277.70 to a high of $1,304.50. Gains came, opined analysts, on stronger safe-haven demand as tensions heightened in Ukraine.
"The move in the gold market has been very much predicated on the whims of Vladimir Putin," Bloomberg News quoted Jeffrey Sica, who helps oversee more than $1 billion of assets as president of Sica Wealth Management in Morristown, New Jersey. "That hasn’t created an easy ride for gold investors, because no one really knows 100 percent what’s going to happen one minute to the next."
Gold prices last week declined 1.2%.
Silver for July delivery rallied 42 cents, or 2.2%, to settle at $19.54 an ounce. The white metal traded from $19.05 to $19.67. Silver prices dropped 2.2% last week.
PGM’s also advanced. In their daily breakdowns:
-
July platinum added $12, or 0.8%, to $1,441.90 an ounce, ranging from $1,422.20 to $1,445.60.
- Palladium for June delivery rose $9, or 1.1%, to $808.75 an ounce, trading between $796 and $809.40.
Last week, platinum fell 0.8% and palladium lost 1.6%.
London Fix Precious Metals
Earlier fixed London precious metals climbed as well. In contrasting the London fix bullion prices from Friday PM to Monday PM:
- Gold rose $7.50, or 0.6%, to $1,298.75 an ounce,
- Silver gained 21 cents, or 1.1%, to $19.46 an ounce,
- Platinum added $11, or 0.8%, to $1,440 an ounce, and
- Palladium edged up $3, or 0.4%, to $807 an ounce
Palladium declined 1.5% last week while the other metals increased with gains of 0.8% for gold, 0.4% for silver and 0.3% for platinum.
US Mint Bullion Sales
Sales totals for U.S. Mint bullion coins were unchanged as of 4:02 p.m. ET. Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of bullion coins sold on Monday, last week, last month, the month so far, and the year-to-date.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday Sales | Sales Last Week | April Sales | May Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $100 American Platinum Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 600 | 1,200 | 600 | 11,800 |
| $50 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 9,500 | 26,000 | 9,500 | 136,000 |
| $25 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 5,000 | 0 | 22,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 20,000 | 0 | 62,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 10,000 | 55,000 | 15,000 | 305,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 1,000 | 17,500 | 2,500 | 85,500 |
| $1 American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 1,151,500 | 4,590,500 | 1,322,500 | 19,792,000 |
| Great Smoky Mountains National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 3,500 | 10,600 | 3,500 | 26,500 |
| Shenandoah National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 15,200 | N/A | 15,200 | 15,200 |
