Gold and silver futures climbed on Monday for the first time in three sessions as oil prices fell and U.S. stocks started their week with loses. Gold ended at its highest level since Wednesday while silver finished at its best mark in more than two weeks.
Gold for February delivery tacked on $9, or 0.8%, to close at $1,105.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the highest since Jan. 20.
"Some fresh safe-haven demand was featured amid the recent shaky world stock markets," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a report. "The other key ‘outside market’ today saw the U.S. dollar index trading modestly lower, which also worked in favor of the precious metals market bulls on this day," Wyckoff added.
Gold prices ranged from a low of $1,094.40 to a high of $1,108.60. They edged up last week by 0.5%.
Elsewhere, silver for March delivery added 19.7 cents, or 1.4%, to settle at $14.254 an ounce. The close was the highest since Jan. 7. Silver prices traded from $14.02 to $14.36. They moved up 1.2% last week.
In other precious metals futures:
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April platinum jumped $29.90, or 3.6%, to $861.50 an ounce, ranging from $817.90 to $864.80.
- Palladium for March delivery declined $8.70, or 1.7%, to $491.15 an ounce, trading between $489.85 and $509.10.
Last week, platinum rose 0.5% and palladium soared 2.6%.
London Precious Metals Prices
Earlier fixed London gold and silver prices also gained. In comparing their levels from Friday PM to Monday PM:
- Gold added $10.35, or 0.9%, to $1,106.60 an ounce.
- Silver added 5 cents, or 0.4%, to $14.22 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
Last week in London bullion prices, platinum shed 0.7% while the others logged increases of 0.2% for gold, 2.7% for silver and 3% for palladium.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2016
The United States Mint registered solid bullion sales on Monday with gold coins rising by 5,000 ounces and one-ounce American Silver Eagles climbing by 727,000.
The U.S. Mint is rationing 2016 American Silver Eagles because of silver planchet shortages. For a second straight time, the agency set their Silver Eagle weekly sales limit at 1 million coins. On Monday, 72.7% of them were claimed, leaving 273,000 until more become available next week. Buyers have grabbed 5,727,000 since their launch on Jan. 11, the most for a month since the 5,790,000 sold in October 2014.
Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of bullion coins sold during varying periods. Products with an asterisk (*) have sold out.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Last Week | Dec Sales | January / 2016 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins | 3,000 | 24,500 | N/A | 80,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 6,000 | 1,000 | 20,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 6,000 | N/A | 32,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins | 5,000 | 45,000 | N/A | 140,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 1,500 | 5,000 | 1,500 | 30,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins | 727,000 | 1,000,000 | 2,333,500 | 5,727,000 |
| 2015 Homestead 5 Oz Silver Coins* | N/A | N/A | ||
| 2015 Kisatchie 5 Oz Silver Coins* | ||||
| 2015 Blue Ridge Parkway 5 Oz Silver Coins* | ||||
| 2015 Bombay Hook 5 Oz Silver Coins* | ||||
| 2015 Saratoga 5 Oz Silver Coins* | N/A | 9,200 | ||
