Gold, silver and other precious metals jumped out of the gate to start the new trading week on Monday, reacting in large part to Friday’s dismal U.S. jobs report. Most U.S. markets were closed for the Good Friday holiday when the jobs data was published.
Gold for June delivery rallied $17.70, or 1.5%, to close at $1,218.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange after rising less than 0.1% last week. Gold prices ranged from a low of $1,212.60 to $1,223.50 — the highest price since Feb. 17.
"The jobs figure certainly was a surprise and an unwelcome number, so you see gold and silver higher," Bloomberg News quoted Tai Wong, the director of commodity products trading at BMO Capital Markets Corp. in New York. "It’s very clear this gives the Fed plenty of cover that they want to see another quarter of strong employment numbers before they think about raising rates."
On Friday, the Labor Department reported that the U.S. economy gained 126,000 jobs in March, the fewest since December 2013. Economists had expected increases in the 250,000 area. Also, February’s gains were revised down to 264,000 from the originally reported 295,000 jobs, and January’s previously revised figure of 239,000 was trimmed to 201,000.
Silver for May delivery surged 41 cents, or 2.5%, to settle at $17.11 an ounce. The precious metal traded between $16.96 and $17.24. Last week, silver prices fell 2.2%.
In PGM futures on Monday:
-
July platinum tacked on $25.90, or 2.2%, to $1,180.40 an ounce, ranging from $1,161 to $1,181.20.
- Palladium for June delivery jumped $22.50, or 3%, to $768.80 an ounce, trading between $746.75 and $778.
Last week, platinum rose 1.2% and palladium gained 0.7%.
London Precious Metals Prices
London markets shut down for Good Friday and Easter Monday holiday. The most recent PM price changes from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM had:
- Gold gaining $1.50, or 0.1%, to $1,198.50 an ounce,
- Silver rising 28 cents, or 1.7%, to $16.84 an ounce,
- Platinum flat at $1,142 an ounce, and
- Palladium gaining $10, or 1.3%, to $751 an ounce.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in April
United States Mint bullion sales on Monday were limited to American Silver Eagles. The one-ounce bullion coins advanced 561,500 and lifted their 2015 tally to just over 12.7 million.
This listing of U.S. Mint bullion products show the number of coins sold during varying periods. Products with an asterisk (*) are no longer available.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday Sales | Last Week | March Sales | April Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 6,000 | 35,000 | 0 | 99,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 5,000 | 1,000 | 26,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 8,000 | 0 | 44,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 5,000 | 70,000 | 0 | 235,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 2,500 | 9,500 | 1,500 | 57,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins | 561,500 | 675,500 | 3,519,000 | 633,500 | 12,704,500 |
| 2015 Homestead 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 1,000 | 15,000 | – | 35,000 |
