Gold and silver futures moved strong out of the gate in their start to the new trading week on Monday with closes at or near 1-month highs.
Gold for April delivery settled up $7.20, or 0.6%, to $1,255.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The finish is the highest since Feb. 27 when prices tapped in at $1,258.80 an ounce.
"Gold is benefiting from the GOP health-care reform failure and subsequent greenback weakness," MarketWatch quoted Accendo Markets analysts Mike van Dulken and Henry Croft.
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,245.50 to a high of $1,261. They climbed 1.5% last week.
Ending higher for a third straight session, silver for May delivery advanced 36 cents, or 2%, to $18.108 an ounce. The settlement is the strongest since March 1 when prices closed at $18.489 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $17.78 and $18.15. They gained 1.9% last week.
In other precious metals futures on Monday:
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April platinum added $1.10, or 0.1%, to $969 an ounce, ranging from $964.40 to $984.50.
- Palladium for June delivery tumbled $18.90, or 2.3%, to $794.45 an ounce, trading between $793.55 and $812.65.
Last week, the pair of PGM metals registered respective increases of 0.5% and 4.8%.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London bullion prices from Friday PM to Monday PM:
- Gold rose $10.05, or 0.8%, to $1,257.55 an ounce.
- Silver added 31 cents, or 1.8%, to $17.94 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
London metal prices last week moved up by 1.5% for gold, 1.3% for silver, 0.4% for platinum and 4.9% for palladium.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in 2017
U.S. Mint bullion sales advanced on Monday by 1,000 ounces in gold coins and 26,000 ounces in silver coins.
Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. bullion products with columns listing 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 | Feb Sales | Mar Sales | 2017 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 1,000 | 8,500 | 21,000 | 15,500 | 123,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 5,000 | 1,000 | 25,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 4,000 | 2,000 | 42,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 5,000 | 30,000 | 35,000 | 190,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 4,000 | 15,000 | 7,000 | 54,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 25,000 | 795,000 | 1,215,000 | 1,320,000 | 7,662,500 |
| 2017 Effigy Mounds 5 Oz Silver Coin | 200 | 0 | 19,500 | 200 | 19,700 |
| 2016 Shawnee 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | ||||
| 2016 Cumberland Gap 5 Oz Silver Coin* | – | ||||
| 2016 Harpers Ferry 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 Theodore Roosevelt 5 Oz Silver Coin* | – | ||||
| 2016 Fort Moultrie 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
