Gold and silver launched out of the trading gate on Monday and reclaimed more than what they lost last week.
Gold for June delivery rallied $28.20, or 2.4%, to settle at $1,203.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The precious metal traded from a low of $1,177.60 to a high of $1,206.70.
"Heavy short covering in the futures market, bargain hunting in the cash market and even some safe-have demand were featured Monday as gold prices posted solid gains and pushed back above the key $1,200.00 level," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a report. "Gold hit a five-week low last Friday and the bargain hunters decided to step in and buy the dip Monday."
Gold slipped 2.3% last week and settled Friday at its lowest price since March 19.
Silver for May delivery shot up 76 cents, or 4.9%, to end at $16.39 an ounce. Silver prices ranged from $15.68 to $16.45. They dived 3.7% last week.
In other precious metals futures on Monday:
-
July platinum gained $32, or 2.9%, to $1,153.40 an ounce, trading between $1,117.60 and $1,154.80.
- Palladium for June delivery added $12.20, or 1.6%, to $782.45 an ounce, ranging from $767 to $785.45.
Last week, platinum dropped 4% and palladium fell 1.6%.
London Precious Metals Prices
Earlier fixed London precious metals prices mostly climbed. In comparing London bullion prices from Friday PM to Monday PM:
- Gold rose $17, or 1.4%, to $1,200 an ounce,
- Silver advanced 47 cents, or 3%, to $16.30 an ounce,
- Platinum shed $3, or 0.3%, to $1,125 an ounce, and
- Palladium added $2, or 0.3%, to $776 an ounce.
Last week, the metals fell by 1.7% for gold, 3.2% for silver, 2.8% for platinum and 0.4% for palladium.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in April
United States Mint bullions sales logged Monday gains of 4,500 ounces in gold coins and 1,500 ounces in silver coins. It is not often that gold coins top silver in the daily numbers, but then last week silver sales jumped the most since the week after the first 2015-dated Silver Eagles launched in January.
The table below offers a listing of U.S. Mint bullion products shows 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 | 3,500 | 5,500 | 35,000 | 15,500 | 114,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 1,000 | 5,000 | 3,000 | 28,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 8,000 | 4,000 | 48,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins | 5,000 | 5,000 | 70,000 | 30,000 | 265,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 500 | 2,500 | 9,500 | 8,500 | 64,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 755,000 | 3,519,000 | 2,173,500 | 14,244,500 |
| 2015 Homestead 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 15,000 | – | 35,000 | |
| 2015 Kisatchie 5 Oz Silver Coins | 300 | 29,500 | N/A | 29,800 | 29,800 |
