Setting palladium aside, prices for precious metals advanced on Tuesday, with gold and silver scoring their third consecutive increase and both also reaching another round of settlement highs – approximately 3.3 years for gold and over 4 months for silver.
Gold for February delivery — the new, most-active contract — rose by $27.20, or 1.3%, to settle at $2,060.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the highest since Aug. 6, 2020, when the yellow metal ended at $2,069.40 an ounce.
"Both precious metals [gold and silver] are supported today by some less-hawkish ‘Fed-speak,’ bullish near-term technical postures and a slumping U.S. dollar index. It’s my strong bias the gold market will, in the coming weeks, score a new record high," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, said in a daily research note.
Gold futures traded between $2,031.60 and $2,064.20. On Monday, they gained 0.5%.
Meanwhile, silver for March delivery — the new, most-active contract — moved up by 26.4 cents, or 1.1%, to settle at $25.302 an ounce. The settlement was the highest for silver since July 19 when it closed at $25.387 an ounce. Silver futures ranged from $24.94 to $25.40. They climbed by 1.4% on Monday.
In other precious metals prices on Tuesday:
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January platinum increased by $27, or 2.9%, to $950.20 an ounce, ranging from $921.10 to $955.50.
- Palladium for March delivery — the new, most-active contract — shed $3.80, or 0.4%, to $1,069.30 an ounce, trading between $1,052.50 and $1,090.50.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2023
U.S. Mint bullion sales last changed on Thursday, Nov. 16, a week ago, and those gains were the second for this month. Advances included 18,500 ounces in American Gold Eagles, 1.083 million ounces in American Silver Eagles, and 6,500 ounces in American Gold Buffalos.
The table below presents a breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products sold, with columns indicating the number of coins sold (not total ounces) during different time periods.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday / This Week | Last Week | August | September | October | November | 2023 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 78,000 | 27,500 | 97,000 | 22,500 | 891,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 13,000 | 7,000 | 4,000 | 99,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 30,000 | 18,000 | 10,000 | 192,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 150,000 | 40,000 | 30,000 | 45,000 | 650,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 19,500 | 18,500 | 36,500 | 10,000 | 377,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 3,124,000 | 2,970,000 | 3,938,000 | 1,439,000 | 23,286,000 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12,700 |
I miss Kaiser’s comments. I hope he’s alright.
He’s a grown man. I’m sure he’s fine.