Gold and silver futures settled modestly lower in their start to the new trading week on Monday.
Gold for June delivery shed $4.20, or 0.3%, to close at $1,219.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Gold prices ended the U.S. day session modestly lower Monday, amid an improving general world trader/investor risk appetite," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a report. "There was no major, fresh fundamental news in the marketplace Monday to influence the precious metals."
Gold prices ranged from a low $1,215.70 to a high of $1,224.10. They climbed 0.2% last week for their first weekly gain in four weeks.
Silver for May delivery declined 10.2 cents, or 0.7%, to close at $14.911 an ounce. The settlement was the lowest since March 1 when the silver ended at $14.756 an ounce. Silver prices traded between $14.89 and $15.11. Last week, they declined 1%.
-
July platinum fell $11.70, or 1.2%, to $943.50 an ounce, ranging from $941.20 to $961.30.
- Palladium for June delivery declined $8.50, or 1.5%, to $552.40 an ounce, trading between $550 and $565.75.
The two precious metals were mixed last week with platinum rising 0.3% and palladium falling 2.1%.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Friday PM to Monday PM:
- Gold added $6.15, or 0.5%, to $1,219.75 an ounce.
- Silver fell 42 cents, or 2.7%, to $14.96 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
Last week, gold and palladium fell by 0.6% and 3.1%; silver rose 0.7%; and platinum was unchanged.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2016
U.S. Mint bullion coins jumped on Monday with sales of:
- 651,000 ounces in American Silver Eagles;
- 8,000 ounces in American Gold Eagles; and
- 500 ounces in American Gold Buffalos.
Earlier on Monday, the U.S. Mint announced that this week’s limit of American Silver Eagles was set at 1,042,500 coins. Bullion distributors ordered 62.4% of them to start the week. The Silver Eagle’s cumulative sales total for this year is at 15,608,500 coins, or 28.5% higher than through the same time in record year 2015.
Below is a sales breakdown of United States Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of bullion coins sold during varying periods of time.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Last Week | Jan Sales | Feb Sales | Mar Sales | Apr Sales | 2016 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins | 7,000 | 6,000 | 89,000 | 67,500 | 29,000 | 8,000 | 193,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 23,000 | 6,000 | 1,000 | 0 | 30,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 36,000 | 12,000 | 4,000 | 0 | 52,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins | 10,000 | 25,000 | 145,000 | 100,000 | 75,000 | 10,000 | 330,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 500 | 2,000 | 34,000 | 19,000 | 7,000 | 500 | 60,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins | 651,000 | 957,500 | 5,954,500 | 4,782,000 | 4,106,000 | 766,000 | 15,608,500 |
| 2016 Shawnee 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 0 | N/A | 105,000 | 0 | 0 | 105,000 |
