Precious metals started the new trading year with gains ranging from 0.3% for gold to 1% for palladium. Gold extended its streak of session increases to seven in a row and marked a more than fourteen-week high.
Gold for February delivery rose $5 to settle at $1,528.10 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The finish was the highest since the yellow metal ended at $1,540.20 an ounce on Sept. 24.
"Investors are coming back from the holidays and repositioning their portfolios," Reuters quoted Jeffrey Christian, managing partner of CPM Group, citing the rally in equities as the main reason for diversification.
"The fact that stock markets are at record highs is continuing to strengthen gold and silver. There is nervousness about why the stock markets are as high as they are, given the economical and political environment."
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,519.70 to a high of $1,534. They also climbed 0.3% on Tuesday, ending 2019 with an increase of 18.9%.
Silver for March delivery settled up 12.5 cents, or 0.7%, to $18.046 an ounce after closing down 0.4% in the previous session and logging a 2019 gain of 15.3%. Thursday’s finish was the highest since Nov. 4 when silver ended at $18.066 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $17.83 and $18.15.
In other precious metals prices Thursday:
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April platinum tacked on $7.20, or 0.7%, to $985 an ounce, ranging from $971.80 to $998.30.
- Palladium for March delivery turned up $18.70 to $1,928 an ounce, trading between $1,907.80 and $1,935.30.
In the prior session, the dual closed out 2019 with overall annual increases of 22.1% for platinum and 59.5% for palladium.
London Precious Metals Prices
UK markets had been closed since Tuesday morning. When comparing those AM precious metals prices to the PM prices on Thursday:
- Gold added $4.10, or 0.3%, to $1,527.10 an ounce.
- Silver declined 12 cents, or 0.7%, to $17.925 an ounce.
US Mint 2019 Bullion Sales
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. Products with an asterisk (*) are no longer available.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday / This Week | Last Week | November | December | 2019 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 8,000 | 2,000 | 108,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin* | 0 | 0 | 5,000 | 0 | 30,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 38,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 195,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 5,000 | 1,500 | 61,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 463,000 | 0 | 14,863,500 |
| Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 20,000 | 5,000 | 25,000 |
| San Antonio Missions 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 55,200 |
| War in the Pacific 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 72,500 |
| American Memorial Park 5 Oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 80,000 |
| Lowell 5 Oz Silver Coin* | N/A | 80,000 | |||
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin* | N/A | 40,000 | |||
