Gold prices on Monday climbed from an 8-month low to settle higher for the first time in six sessions.
Gold for December delivery gained $3.60, or 0.3%, to end at $1,235.10 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"There is some physical buying that’s keeping prices supported," Miguel Perez-Santalla, sales and marketing manager at Heraeus Metals New York LLC, said in a telephone interview according to Bloomberg News. "The main focus of the market is the Fed meeting, and many investors are in a wait-and-watch mode."
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is scheduled to meet on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Gold prices ranged from an intraday low of $1,226.30 to a high of $1,239.20. Gold declined last week by 2.8%, ending at the lowest price since Jan. 22.
Silver for December delivery climbed a penny for a second consecutive session. Closing at $18.62 an ounce, the white metal traded between $18.56 and $18.71. Silver prices tumbled 2.9% last week.
In other precious metals prices on Monday:
-
October platinum slipped $7, or 0.5%, to $1,363.50 an ounce, ranging from $1,362.30 to $1,376.50.
- Palladium for December delivery added 85 cents, or 0.1%, to $836.90 an ounce, trading between $835 and $850.65.
Last week, platinum fell 2.9% and palladium plummeted 6.2%.
London Fix Precious Metals
Earlier fixed London precious metals mostly advanced. In contrasting London bullion Fix prices and the LBMA Silver Price from Friday PM to Monday PM:
- Gold gained $2.75, or 0.2%, to $1,234.25 an ounce,
- Silver was unchanged at $18.64,
- Platinum rose $8, or 0.6%, to $1,368 an ounce, and
- Palladium added $12, or 1.4%, to $841 an ounce
London precious metals declined last week with losses of 2.7% for gold, 2.6% for silver, 3.3% for platinum and 6.5% for palladium.
US Mint Bullion Sales
United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged Monday as of 3:10 PM ET. Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of bullion coins sold last week, last month, this month so far, and the year to date.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday Sales | Last Week | August Sales | September Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $100 American Platinum Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 100 | 700 | 200 | 13,800 |
| $50 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 5,500 | 21,000 | 19,000 | 264,500 |
| $25 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 1,000 | 0 | 5,000 | 32,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 6,000 | 2,000 | 86,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 25,000 | 10,000 | 420,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 1,000 | 8,000 | 4,000 | 129,000 |
| $1 American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 470,000 | 2,007,500 | 810,000 | 28,921,000 |
| Great Smoky Mountains National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 500 | 0 | 500 | 30,000 |
| Shenandoah National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 21,000 |
| Arches National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 1,200 | 0 | 21,200 |
| Great Sand Dunes 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 2,500 | 7,500 | 2,500 | 10,000 |
The physical market has little to do with the paper futures market, which is manipulated. It’s public knowledge yet it goes on. And on.