Gold, silver and platinum prices gained in their start to the new trading week on Monday. Gold marked a more than seven-year high while silver finished at its best price in a month.
Gold for June delivery tacked on $48.20, or 2.9%, to settle at $1,693.90 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the highest since Dec. 17, 2012, when the yellow metal ended at $1,698.20 an ounce.
"Physical demand continues to dominate and support gold prices. Massive amounts of stimulus are effectively diluting currencies so gold demand is coming from all directions," Reuters quoted Phil Streible, chief market strategist at Blue Line Futures in Chicago.
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,638.20 to a high of $1,715.80. They lost 0.5% last week.
Silver for March delivery rallied 67.5 cents, or 4.7%, to settle at $15.169 an ounce. The finish was the highest since March 6 when silver ended at $17.263 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $14.35 and $15.41. They shed 0.3% last week.
In other precious metals futures prices on Monday:
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July platinum rose $13.90, or 1.9%, to $732 an ounce, ranging from $718.80 to $741.60.
- Palladium for June delivery fell $29.20, or 1.4%, to $2,076.80 an ounce, trading between $2,020 and $2,137.
Last week, platinum fell 3% and palladium dropped 4.1%.
London Precious Metals Prices (LBMA)
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Friday PM to Monday PM:
- Gold advanced $35.20, or 2.2%, to $1,648.30 an ounce.
- Silver rose 16.5 cents, or 1.2%, to $14.555 an ounce.
In LBMA weekly results for last week, silver gained 0.5%, gold declined 0.3%; platinum fell 3.8% and palladium lost 5%.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2020
Published United States Mint bullion sales figures were unchanged from last week. 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 | January | February | March | April | 2020 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 43,000 | 38,000 | 3,500 | 133,000 | 33,500 | 208,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 23,000 | 2,000 | 8,000 | 0 | 33,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 18,000 | 2,000 | 20,000 | 0 | 40,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 60,000 | 20,000 | 95,000 | 0 | 175,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 21,000 | 1,000 | 47,500 | 0 | 69,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 650,000 | 3,846,000 | 650,000 | 5,482,500 | 0 | 9,978,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 25,000 | 14,500 | 9,300 | 31,200 | 0 | 55,000 |
