Precious metals futures advanced on Tuesday, posting gains that ranged from 0.7% for palladium to 2.8% for platinum. Meanwhile, gold and silver increased by 0.8% and 1%, respectively, with both closing at more than three-week highs.
Gold for December delivery tacked on $9.90 to settle at $1,273.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement is the highest since Oct. 3.
"Gold prices ended the U.S. day session with good gains Tuesday, supported by short covering in the futures market and perceived value-buying in the cash market," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a report. "The U.S. dollar index backing well off its daily high as trading progressed also encouraged the precious metals bulls today."
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,262.40 to a high of $1,274.90. They slipped 0.3% on Monday, marking a one-week low.
Elsewhere, silver for December settled up 17.6 cents to $17.78 an ounce. Like gold, the close was the highest since Oct. 3. Silver futures traded between $17.51 and $17.82. In the previous session, they rose 0.6%.
In other precious metals action:
-
January platinum jumped $25.80 to $964.90 an ounce, ranging from $939.50 to $968.80.
- Palladium for December delivery added $4.10 to $634.85 an ounce, trading between $633.40 and $643.30.
The two metals last week registered losses of 0.8% and 4.3%.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London bullion prices from Monday PM to Tuesday PM:
- Gold gained $3.85, or 0.3%, to $1,269.40 an ounce.
- Silver added 9 cents, or 0.5%, to $17.73 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in 2016
U.S. Mint bullion products registered gains totaling 4,000 ounces in gold coins and 77,500 ounces in silver coins.
Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion coins with columns listing the number of bullion coins sold during varying periods Products with an asterisk (*) are no longer available.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday Sales | Last Week | This Week | Sept Sales | Oct Sales | 2016 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coins* | – | 20,000 | ||||
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins | 2,000 | 19,000 | 13,500 | 79,000 | 90,000 | 655,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 1,000 | 5,000 | 7,000 | 63,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 4,000 | 4,000 | 16,000 | 16,000 | 132,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins | 10,000 | 10,000 | 20,000 | 85,000 | 70,000 | 770,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 1,000 | 10,000 | 2,000 | 17,500 | 24,000 | 173,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins | 75,000 | 1,325,000 | 25,0000 | 1,675,000 | 3,670,000 | 34,250,500 |
| 2016 Shawnee 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 105,000 | ||||
| 2016 Cumberland Gap 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 75,000 | ||||
| 2016 Harpers Ferry 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 200 | 0 | 200 | 200 | 36,500 |
| 2016 Theodore Roosevelt 5 Oz Silver Coins | 500 | 800 | 500 | 2,000 | 3,100 | 32,600 |
I won’t hold my breath.