Precious metals futures were divided on Monday — though little changed overall — with platinum and palladium higher and gold and silver lower. Silver’s loss was its first in four sessions while gold broke its string of two gains in a row.
Gold for June delivery dipped 60 cents, or less than 0.1%, to end at $1,314.10 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Dollar strength has been the most persistent headwind for gold in recent weeks," Peter Grant, a vice president at Zaner Precious Metals, told MarketWatch.
The yellow metal "has displayed a modicum of resilience over the last several sessions, holding last week’s low at 1,300.67, even as the dollar index set new 4-month highs," he said.
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,310.60 to a high of $1,320.10. They fell 0.7% last week for their third straight weekly decline.
Silver for July delivery shed 2.4 cents, or 0.2%, to finish at $16.495 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $16.43 and $16.60. They gained 0.7% last week.
In other precious metals futures prices on Monday:
-
July platinum added $3, or 0.3%, to $913.30 an ounce, ranging from $910.40 to $920.
- Palladium for June delivery added $4.85, or 0.5%, to $962.10 an ounce, trading between $960.60 and $973.90.
Last week, platinum fell 0.7% and palladium lost 0.6%.
London Precious Metals Prices
UK markets were closed for a bank holiday. On Friday, they registered losses with:
- Gold down $5.65, or 0.4%, to $1,309.40 an ounce.
- Silver down 5 cents, or 0.3%, to $16.415 an ounce.
- Platinum down $1, or 0.1%, to $901 an ounce.
- Palladium down $8, or 0.8%, to $963 an ounce.
Last week, LBMA metal prices posted losses of 0.9% for gold, 0.7% for silver, 1.1% for platinum and 2% for palladium.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2018
United States Mint bullion coins have yet to log gains in May. Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of coins sold during varying periods.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday / May | Last Week | March | April | 2018 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 500 | 2,500 | 4,000 | 47,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 5,000 | 10,000 | 5,000 | 100,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 500 | 1,000 | 2,000 | 30,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 230,000 | 915,000 | 915,000 | 6,007,500 |
| Pictured Rocks 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 10,000 | 0 | 30,000 |
| Apostle Islands 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | N/A | 30,000 | 30,000 |
