Gold settled lower to start the new trading week on Monday, logging an eight loss in nine sessions after rallying on Friday.
Gold for December delivery declined $10, or 0.9%, to close at $1,159.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"The confident gold bears saw Friday’s spike as the heat comes out of the rally as an opportunity to sell," Tai Wong, the director of commodity products trading at BMO Capital Markets Corp. in New York, said in a telephone interview according to Bloomberg. "The market view remains that the Fed will raise rates by the middle of next year, which informs the bearish sentiment in gold."
Gold prices ranged from a low of $1,165 to a high of $1,177.50. Last week gold slipped 0.2% with deeper losses saved by a $27.20 bounce on Friday.
Ending down for the fourth time in five sessions, silver for December delivery shed 4 cents, or 3%, to $15.67 an ounce. The precious metal traded from $15.54 to $15.88. Prices plummeted by 2.3% last week even with a 30 cent gain on Friday.
In rounding out the precious metals complex:
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January platinum lost $5.90, or 0.5%, to $1,206.90 an ounce, ranging from $1,200.70 to $1,221.50.
- Palladium for December delivery fell $6.30, or 0.8%, to $766.25 an ounce, trading between $763.60 and $776.50.
Last week, platinum gave back 1.8% and palladium slipped 2.4%.
London Fix Precious Metals
Earlier fixed London precious metals gained. In contrasting London bullion Fix prices from Friday PM to Monday PM:
- Gold rose $7.50, or 0.7%, to $1,162 an ounce,
- Silver climbed a quarter, or 1.6%, to $15.67 an ounce,
- Platinum added $11, or 0.9%, to $1,209 an ounce, and
- Palladium rose $9, or 1.2%, to $772 an ounce
Last week, losses totaled 0.8% for gold, 4.8% for silver, 2.4% for platinum and 2.7% for palladium.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in November
United States Mint gold bullion advanced with sales of 3,500 ounces in American Gold Eagles and 500 ounces in American Golf Buffalo coins.
Sales of the Mint’s most popular bullion product, the American Silver Eagle, have been on hold since Wednesday when the agency announced that they temporarily sold out of them.
Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of coins sold on Monday, last week, last month, in November and the year to date.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday Sales | Last Week | October Sales | November Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $100 American Platinum Eagle Bullion Coins | N/A | 400 | N/A* | 16,700 | |
| $50 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 1,000 | 29,000 | 57,500 | 30,000 | 383,500 |
| $25 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 6,000 | 2,000 | 40,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 4,000 | 4,000 | 8,000 | 8,000 | 108,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 15,000 | 15,000 | 50,000 | 30,000 | 520,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Bullion Gold Coins | 500 | 6,000 | 21,000 | 6,500 | 167,000 |
| $1 American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 1,260,000 | 5,790,000 | 1,260,000 | 39,381,000 |
| Great Smoky Mountains National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33,000 |
| Shenandoah National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 400 | 900 | 400 | 22,800 |
| Arches National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22,000 |
| Great Sand Dunes 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 600 | 4,200 | 600 | 16,800 |
| Everglades 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 22,000 | N/A | 22,000 | 22,000 |
*The U.S. Mint stopped selling bullion Platinum Eagles on Oct. 1. The agency will begin selling 2015-dated issues in early January.
