Precious metals futures on Monday rebounded slightly from their losses on Friday. Gold closed at a more than one-week high.
Gold for February delivery tacked on $10.40, or 0.8%, to settle at $1,251.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the highest since Dec. 7.
"One of the drivers that is pushing gold higher right now is the flight to safety (due to lower equities), along with the dollar being sold-off a bit," Reuters quoted Michael Matousek, head trader at U.S. Global Investors.
"Some traders are also positioning themselves so that if the Fed does not raise rates, gold might spike."
The Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting begins Tuesday.
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,239.40 to a high of $1,252.20. They declined 0.9% last week, ending Friday at their lowest price since Dec. 3.
Meanwhile, silver for March delivery rose 12.2 cents, or 0.8%, to end at $14.759 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $14.62 and $14.78. They lost 0.4% last week.
In other precious metals prices on Monday:
-
January platinum added $10.60, or 1.4%, to $795.90 an ounce, ranging from $782.70 to $798.40.
- Palladium for March delivery gained $10.40, or 0.9%, to $1,182 an ounce, trading between $1,167.90 and $1,194.20. Last Wednesday, the precious metal ended at a record of $1,194.50 an ounce.
The pair divided last week with platinum sliding 0.7% and palladium inched up less than 0.1%.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Friday PM to Monday PM:
- Gold rose $6.30, or 0.5%, to 1,241.65 an ounce.
- Silver added 2 cents, or 0.1%, to $14.60 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight
In LBMA results last week, silver and palladium respectively rose 0.7% and 2.1% while both gold and platinum declined by 0.6%.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2018
United States Mint bullion sales were limited to 75,000 onces in American Silver Eagles. 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) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Last Week | November | December | 2018 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 16,000 | 2,000 | 190,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 4,000 | 0 | 32,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 62,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 20,000 | 0 | 230,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 1,500 | 5,500 | 1,500 | 121,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 75,000 | 100,000 | 1,645,000 | 325,000 | 15,535,000 |
| Pictured Rocks 5 Oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| Apostle Islands 5 Oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| Voyageurs 5 Oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| Cumberland Island 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 52,500 |
| Block Island 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 80,000 | 0 | 80,000 |
