Precious metals futures divided Monday with gold and silver rising and platinum and palladium falling. Gold ended at a fresh, seven-year high while silver posted a nearly 6-month high.
Gold for April delivery tacked on $27.80, or 1.7%, to settle at $1,676.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the highest since Feb. 6, 2013 when gold ended at $1,678.80 an ounce.
"Markets worldwide are getting rocked by a marked increase over the weekend in trader and investor fears amid the still-growing coronavirus outbreak," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a daily research note. "Gold is up around $40 an ounce and at a seven-year high, U.S. Treasuries are rallying sharply, the U.S. dollar index is up, crude oil prices are sharply down and much of the rest of the raw commodity sector is feeling selling pressure."
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,654.60 to a high of $1,691.70. They moved ahead last week by 3.9%.
Silver for March delivery surged 34.6 cents, or 1.9%, to close at $18.876 an ounce. The settlement was the highest since Sept. 4 when silver closed at $19.547 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $18.55 and $18.92. They jumped 4.5% last week.
In other precious metals prices on Monday:
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April platinum declined $1.90, or 0.2%, to $974.20 an ounce, ranging from $961.30 to $981.90.
- Palladium for March delivery declined $84.10, or 3.2%, to $2,521.30 an ounce, trading between $2,553.30 and $2,632.50. On Friday, palladium marked a record settlement of $2,605.40 an ounce.
Last week, platinum rose 0.8% and palladium soared 12.5%.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Friday PM to Monday PM:
- Gold rose $28.35, or 1.7%, to $1,671.65 an ounce.
- Silver advanced 21.5 cents, or 1.2%, to $18.775 an ounce.
In LBMA results last week, prices climbed 3.9% for gold, 4.8% for silver, 0.4% for platinum, and 9.4% for palladium.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2020
United States Mint bullion sales remain unreported for the week and month according to available figures from the Mint’s website. 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) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| This Week / February | November | December | 2020 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 8,000 | 2,000 | 38,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 5,000 | 0 | 23,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 18,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 60,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 5,000 | 1,500 | 21,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 463,000 | 0 | 3,846,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 463,000 | 0 | 14,500 |
