Precious metals gained on Monday, logging increases ranging from less than 0.1% for palladium to 3.3% for silver. Gold ended at a more than four-month high.
Gold for June delivery added $29.50, or 1.6%, to settle at $1,867.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the strongest since Jan. 7 when gold ended at $1,913.60 an ounce.
"There’s a flight to safety out of the equity markets … and anticipation that we’re going to continue to see inflation numbers trend much stronger going forward," Reuters quoted Jeffrey Sica, founder of Circle Squared Alternative Investments.
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,841.10 to a high of $1,869.30. They rose 0.4% last week.
Silver for May delivery surged 90.9 cents to settle at $28.274 an ounce. The finish was the highest since Feb. 1 when silver closed at $29.418 an ounce.
Silver futures traded between $27.44 and $28.44. Last week they dipped 0.4%.
In other precious metals futures prices on Monday:
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July platinum ended up $21.70, or 1.8%, to $1,244.50 an ounce, ranging from $1,224 to $1,247.50.
- Palladium for June delivery rose $1.30, or 0.04%, to $2,895.90 an ounce, trading between $2,877 and $2,909.
Last week platinum fell 2.5% and palladium declined 1%.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2021
The United States Mint has yet to report any bullion sales for May. 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) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday / May | Last Week | February Sales | March Sales | April Sales | 2021 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 121,000 | 55,500 | 38,500 | 406,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 9,000 | 0 | 0 | 31,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 | 0 | 56,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 55,000 | 0 | 150,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 16,000 | 33,500 | 11,000 | 122,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 3,191,500 | 4,087,000 | 1,053,000 | 13,106,500 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | N/A | 35,000 | 0 | 35,000 |
| Tuskegee Airmen 5 oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | N/A | N/A | 50,000 | 50,000 |
