Precious metals futures advanced Tuesday with several milestones recorded. Palladium finished at an all-time high. Silver closed at a more than eight-week high. Gold logged an about fourteen-week high.
Gold for December delivery settled up $12.20, or 1%, to $1,236.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement is the highest since gold ended at $1,239.70 an ounce on July 16.
"The yellow metal was boosted by safe-haven demand amid keener geopolitical uncertainty in the marketplace," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a daily report. "Gold prices did back off their daily highs as the U.S. stock indexes moved up from their daily lows."
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,224.50 to a high of $1,243. They declined 0.3% on Monday.
Elsewhere, silver for December tacked on 20.6 cents, or 1.4%, to close at $14.793 an ounce. The settlement is the strongest since silver ended at $14.859 an ounce on Aug. 27. Silver futures traded between $14.54 and $14.84. They shed 0.4% on Monday.
In other precious metals prices on Tuesday:
-
January platinum gained $12.90, or 1.6%, to $835.40 an ounce, ranging from $820 to $838.20.
- Palladium for December delivery advanced $15.10, or 1.4%, to $1,122.80 an ounce — an all-time record. Palladium prices traded between between $1,104.40 and $1,137.30.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Monday PM to Tuesday PM:
- Gold gained $13.65, or 1.1%, to 1,235.95 an ounce.
- Silver rose 8.5 cents, or 0.6%, to $14.715 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2018
United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged. Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of coins sold during varying periods.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday | Last Week | This Week | September | October | 2018 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,500 | 4,000 | 14,500 | 17,000 | 168,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 1,000 | 0 | 2,000 | 2,000 | 26,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4,000 | 0 | 58,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40,000 | 10,000 | 210,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,500 | 0 | 11,000 | 5,000 | 113,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 200,000 | 200,000 | 2,897,500 | 1,330,000 | 13,465,000 |
| Pictured Rocks 5 Oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| Apostle Islands 5 Oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| Voyageurs 5 Oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| Cumberland Island 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 52,500 | 0 | 52,500 |
