Gold futures closed lower Monday for the the fourth time in five sessions, but rebounded from a 10-month low reached in morning trading.
Gold for February delivery slipped $1.30, or 0.1%, to settle at $1,176.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Gold has done really well up until the last six months because investors weren’t earning on cash above inflation but now U.S. 10-year yields are higher and real interest rates have become more positive hence gold looks less attractive because one can earn a return on cash elsewhere," Reuters quoted ICBC Standard Bank analyst Tom Kendall.
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,158.60 to a high of $1,190.20. They edged down last week by 0.1%, the lowest of their four straight weekly declines.
Ending higher for the sixth time in seven sessions, silver for March delivery tacked on 6.7 cents, or 0.4%, to $16.899 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $16.54 and $17.05. They jumped 2.2% last week.
In other precious metals futures on Monday:
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January platinum gained $5.90, or 0.6%, to $938.60 an ounce, ranging from $924.70 to $941.80.
- Palladium for March delivery added 55 cents, or less than 0.1%, to $746.05 an ounce, trading between $727.20 and $752.20.
Both finished higher last week, logging increases of 2.7% for platinum and 0.6% for palladium.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London bullion prices from Friday PM to Monday PM:
- Gold declined $11.30, or 1%, to $1,162.20 an ounce.
- Silver rose 27 cents, or 1.7%, to $16.62 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
Last week, platinum and palladium picked up by 1.3% and 1.9% while gold and silver fell by 1.2% and 0.6%.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in 2016
United States Mint bullion sales advanced for the first time this month, posting gains of 34,000 ounces in gold coins and 144,500 ounces in silver coins.
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 / Dec Sales | Last Week | Nov Sales | 2016 Sales | |
$100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coins* | – | 20,000 | ||
$50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins | 23,000 | 29,000 | 129,000 | 817,500 |
$25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 2,000 | 1,000 | 7,000 | 73,000 |
$10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins | 2,000 | 2,000 | 18,000 | 152,000 |
$5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins | 40,000 | 20,000 | 105,000 | 925,000 |
$50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 5,500 | 6,500 | 29,500 | 212,500 |
$1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins | 140,000 | 175,000 | 3,061,000 | 37,601,500 |
2016 Shawnee 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 105,000 | ||
2016 Cumberland Gap 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 75,000 | ||
2016 Harpers Ferry 5 Oz Silver Coins | 100 | 0 | 1,500 | 38,100 |
2016 Theodore Roosevelt 5 Oz Silver Coins | 800 | -2,000 | 6,600 | 40,000 |
2016 Fort Moultrie 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | -3,000 | 27,800 | 27,800 |