Precious Metals Post Modest Gains, XAU Rises 1.3%

Gold and silver futures maintained the majority of their earlier gains on Monday afternoon amid widespread strength in the precious metals complex.

COMEX gold for February delivery – the most actively-traded contract – finished up by $8.90, or 0.5%, at $1,714.40 per ounce.  Silver futures fared slightly better, as the March COMEX contract ended higher by $0.25, or 0.7%, to $33.38 per ounce.

The moderate gains in precious metals coincided with slight weakness in the U.S. dollar, which fell by 0.2% against a composite of foreign currencies.

As for gold and silver stocks, the sector outperformed the metals by a noticeable margin on Monday.  The Philadelphia Gold & Silver Index (XAU) settled higher by 1.3% at 164.15.  The advance marked the XAU’s first three-session win streak in over a month – since November 5-8.

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Among widely-traded XAU components, Barrick Gold (ABX) climbed by 1.8% to $34.20 per share while Silver Wheaton (SLW) surged 2.5% to $36.64 per share.

While gold and silver rose modestly, platinum and palladium futures posted larger gains – each added 1% to $1,623.30 and $704.75 per ounce, respectively.

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