Precious metals futures tumbled out of the gate in their start to the new trading week and month of May. Gold ended at its lowest price in three weeks while silver closed at a more than 15-week low.
Gold for June delivery declined $12.80, or 1%, to settle at $1,255.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement is the weakest since April 10.
"There were no major geopolitical developments over the weekend to rattle the markets and the U.S. stock indexes are at or near record highs with no signs of easing," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a report. "Those are bearish elements for safe-haven gold."
Gold futures traded between $1,254.90 and $1,272.40. They fell 1.6% last week, but closed April with a 1.4% increase.
Falling for a fifth straight session, silver futures for July delivery tumbled 42 cents, or 2.4%, to close at $16.842 an ounce. The settlement is the lowest since Jan. 13. Silver futures ranged from $16.81 to $17.29. They shed 3.3% last week to end 5.4% lower in April.
In other precious metals futures on Monday:
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July platinum fell $16.50, or 1.7%, to $932.20 an ounce, trading between $930.20 and $952.20.
- Palladium for June delivery declined $12.25, or 1.5%, to $814.45 an ounce, ranging from $813.60 to $828.60.
London Precious Metals Prices
London markets closed Monday for May Day holiday. In Friday PM bullion prices:
- Gold rose $3.65 or 0.3%, to $1,266.45 an ounce.
- Silver declined 5 cents, or 0.3%, to $17.41 an ounce.
- Platinum added $2, or 0.2%, to $946 an ounce.
- Palladium rose $14, or 1.7%, to $824 an ounce.
Last week, palladium rose 2.6% as the other metal prices dropped by 1.2% for gold, 3.2% for silver and 3.4% for platinum.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2017
U.S. Mint bullion sales advances included 3,000 ounces in gold coins and 534,500 ounces in silver coins. Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. 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 Sales | Last Week | April Sales | 2017 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 2,000 | 1,000 | 3,500 | 129,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 46,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 10,000 | 20,000 | 210,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 1,000 | 1,000 | 3,500 | 60,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 530,000 | 235,000 | 835,000 | 9,322,500 |
| 2017 Effigy Mounds 5 Oz Silver Coin | 100 | 0 | 900 | 20,700 |
| 2017 Frederick Douglass 5 Oz Silver Coin | 800 | 1,400 | 17,600 | 18,400 |
