Precious metals futures ended mixed in their start to the new trading week on Monday. Gold and silver declined while platinum and palladium climbed. Silver’s loss was its first in nine sessions. Gold snapped a bigger streak, ending down for the first time in 12 sessions.
Gold for February delivery slipped $1.90, or 0.1%, to settle at $1,320.40 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Some profit-taking and chart consolidation were featured in both metals [gold and silver], after recent good gains," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a report. "A higher U.S. dollar index on this day also worked against the precious metals market bulls."
Gold futures traded from a low of $1,315.70 to a high of $1,323. They advanced 1% last week, closing Friday at their highest best price since Sept. 15.
Silver for March delivery shed 14.1 cents, or 0.8%, to settle at $17.144 an ounce. Silver futures ranged from $17.06 to $17.30. They gained 0.8% last week, ending Friday at their highest level since Nov. 17.
In other precious metals prices on Monday:
-
April platinum moved up $1.20, or 0.1%, to $976.40 an ounce, trading between $971.10 and $979.20.
- Palladium for March delivery tacked on $13.70, or 1.3%, to $1,095.90 an ounce, ranging from $1,084 to $1,098.35. The close marked a new all-time high.
Last week, platinum rallied 3.9% and palladium jumped 2%.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Friday PM to Monday PM:
- Gold added $2.80, or 0.2%, to $1,319.95 an ounce.
- Silver rose 1.5 cents, or about 0.1%, to $17.17 an ounce.
- Platinum gained $5, or 0.5%, to $971 an ounce.
- Palladium declined $5, or 0.5%, to $1,090 an ounce.
Last week, London bullion prices logged gains of 1.6% for gold, 1.7% for silver, 4.2% for platinum and 3.7% for palladium.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2018
U.S. bullion sales were unchanged, according to the agency’s online data. 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 | Last Week | December | 2017 Sales | 2018 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 | 0 |
| $25 American Eagle 1 Oz Palladium Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15,000 | 0 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 38,000 | 228,500 | 0 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 3,000 | 37,000 | 0 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 4,000 | 64,000 | 0 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 25,000 | 395,000 | 0 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 14,000 | 99,500 | 0 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 742,000 | 18,065,500 | 0 |
| 2017 Effigy Mounds 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35,000 | 0 |
| 2017 Frederick Douglass 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 | 0 |
| 2017 Ozark Riverways 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 | 0 |
| 2017 Ellis Island 5 Oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40,000 | 0 |
| 2017 George Rogers Clark 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32,400 | 0 |
