Precious metals stumbled out of the gate in their start to the new trading week on Monday, with gold extending its losing streak to eight sessions and closing at a 5-1/4-year low.
Gold for August delivery plummeted $25.10, or 2.2%, to settle at $1,106.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The closing price is the lowest since March 30, 2010 when gold ended at $1,105.70 an ounce.
"At a time of the year when Indian markets are in their summer ‘doldrums’ with the developed world factoring in a change of trend in interest rates to the upside combined with a stronger dollar, speculators saw a chance to launch a bear raid," MarketWatch quoted Julian Phillips, founder of and contributor to GoldForecaster.com.
The yellow metals ranged from a low of $1,080 to a high of $1,132.50.
"We’re getting a little carry-over from the end of last week," Bloomberg News quoted Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist in Philadelphia at Janney Capital Management LLC. "There really isn’t much to sink your teeth into today. The market may hesitate here."
Gold prices declined last week by 2.3%.
Lower for a sixth session in a row, silver for September delivery shed 8 cents, or 0.5%, to settle at $14.76 an ounce. Silver prices traded from $14.49 to $14.85. They dived last week by 4.2%.
In other precious metals prices on Monday:
-
October platinum fell $12.70, or 1.3%, to $988.60 an ounce, ranging from $946.30 to $997.20.
- Palladium for September lost $6.95, or 1.1%, to $612.05 an ounce, trading between $595 and $618.50.
The two metals last week fell by 3% and 4.8%.
London Precious Metals Prices
London gold and silver prices declined as well. In comparing London bullion prices from Friday PM to Monday PM:
- Gold lost $28.20, or 2.5%, to $1,104.60 an ounce.
- Silver gave up 17 cents, or 1.1%, to $14.84 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are displayed on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight after the setting of the prices each day.
Last week, London precious metals registered losses of 2.3% for gold, 2.8% for silver, 3.3% for platinum and 5.2% for palladium.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in July
United States Mint bullion products advanced on Monday with gold coins rising 12,000 ounces — 2,000 ounces in American Buffalo gold coins and 10,000 ounces in American Eagle gold coins. These increases follow robust gains last week. American Gold Eagle sales in July at 111,000 ounces are already the highest for a month since the April 2013 total of 209,500 ounces.
Silver sales were muted. American Silver Eagles temporarily sold out on July 7. The Mint will resume selling them on July 27.
Below is a listing of U.S. Mint bullion products that shows the number of coins sold during varying periods. Products with an asterisk (*) are no longer available. Those with a double asterisk (**) are temporarily unavailable.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday Sales | Last Week | June Sales | July Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins | 10,000 | 29,000 | 62,500 | 95,000 | 293,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 4,000 | 4,000 | 40,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 6,000 | 12,000 | 18,000 | 88,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 40,000 | 85,000 | 95,000 | 485,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 2,000 | 5,000 | 21,000 | 15,000 | 111,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins** | 0 | 0 | 4,840,000 | 2,709,000 | 24,495,000 |
| 2015 Homestead 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 35,000 | |||
| 2015 Kisatchie 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 42,000 | |||
| 2015 Blue Ridge Parkway 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 7,600 | 35,000 | 7,600 | 42,600 |
BTFD
any chance the mint lowers the price of their gold coins in the near future or have I been out in the sun too long