Gold settled lower in light trading volume on Monday as investors looked ahead to the Fed’s two-day policy meeting that begins on Tuesday. Silver also edged down on the day, but palladium and palladium advanced.
Gold for December delivery ended down $2.50, or 0.2%, to $1,229.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"The market is in a wait-and-watch mode ahead of the Fed meeting," Bart Melek, the head of commodity strategy at TD Securities in Toronto, said in a telephone interview according to Bloomberg News. "The Fed’s guidance on interest rates will determine the future price direction."
Gold prices ranged from a low of $1,227.10 to a high of $1,232.10. Last week gold slipped 0.6%, a first weekly decline in three weeks.
Silver for December delivery lost what it gained on Friday, 2 cents or 0.1%. The precious metal closed at $17.16 an ounce, trading between $17.12 and $17.23. Last week, silver declined 0.9%.
In PGM futures on Monday:
-
January platinum gained $3.60, or 0.3%, to $1,254.50 an ounce, ranging from $1,248.20 to $1,258.60.
- Palladium for December delivery rose $6.25, or 0.8%, to $787.15 an ounce, trading between $777.20 and $788.70.
In prices last week, platinum shed 0.8% and palladium rallied 3.2%.
London Fix Precious Metals
Earlier fixed London precious metals mostly declined. In contrasting London bullion Fix prices from Friday PM to Monday PM:
- Gold lost $4, or 0.3%, to $1,228.75 an ounce,
- Silver shed a penny to $17.18,
- Platinum fell $1, or 0.1%, to $1,253 an ounce, and
- Palladium climbed $4, or 0.5%, to $788 an ounce
Last week, palladium jumped 4.1% while other metals logged declines of 0.1% for gold, 1% for silver and 0.4% for platinum.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in October
The U.S. Mint’s three most popular bullion coins scored sales gains on Monday:
- American Silver Eagles added 175,000;
- American Gold Eagles (1 oz) added; and
- American Gold Buffalo added 500
Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of bullion coins sold on Monday, last week, last month, in October, and the year to date.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday Sales | Last Week | September Sales | October Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $100 American Platinum Eagle Bullion Coins | N/A* | 2,700 | 400 | 16,700 | |
| $50 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 3,000 | 11,500 | 50,500 | 49,500 | 345,500 |
| $25 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 1,000 | 6,000 | 6,000 | 38,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 8,000 | 8,000 | 100,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 10,000 | 30,000 | 40,000 | 480,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Bullion Gold Coins | 500 | 3,500 | 14,500 | 21,000 | 160,500 |
| $1 American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins | 175,000 | 840,000 | 4,140,000 | 4,115,000 | 36,366,000 |
| Great Smoky Mountains National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 3,500 | 0 | 33,000 |
| Shenandoah National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 400 | 1,000 | 400 | 21,900 |
| Arches National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 800 | 0 | 22,000 |
| Great Sand Dunes 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 1,400 | 4,500 | 4,200 | 16,200 |
*The U.S. Mint stopped selling bullion Platinum Eagles on Oct. 1. The agency will begin selling 2015-dated issues in early January.
