Gold futures settled lower for a second session in a row on Monday, after advancing for seven straight sessions.
Gold for August delivery declined $2.70, or 0.2%, to settle at $1,292.10 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Gold is more likely to trade lower ahead of the Brexit vote given its strong rally over the last few weeks," MarketWatch quoted Michael Armbruster, principal and co-founder at Altavest. "We look for gold to make another push higher after the Brexit vote," he said.
The U.K. votes on Thursday on an exit from the European Union (Brexit).
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,280.80 to a high of $1,296.80. They advanced 1.5% last week for their third straight weekly gain. On Thursday, gold ended at its highest price since Jan. 22, 2015.
Silver for July delivery rose 10.3 cents, or 0.6%, to settle at $17.514 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $17.30 and $17.66. They moved up last week by 0.5%.
In other precious metals trading on Monday:
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July platinum gained $21.10, or 2.2%, to $987.20 an ounce, ranging from $965 to $990.10.
- Palladium for September delivery rallied $18.80, or 3.6%, to $548.45 an ounce, trading between $530.55 and $550.75.
Last week the two metals registered losses of 2.8% and 3%.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Friday PM to Monday PM:
- Gold declined $8.90, or 0.7%, to $1,281.80 an ounce.
- Silver shed 3.5 cents, or 0.2%, to $17.34 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
Last week, gold added 1.2% and silver rose 0.3% while platinum fell 2.8% and palladium plummeted 4.2%.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in 2016
United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged Monday. Earlier in the day, the U.S. Mint said its latest weekly allocation of American Silver Eagle is 2,204,500 coins. 2016 Silver Eagles are running at a record pace with 24,795,500 sold, marking a 26.9% increase over those sold through same time in record-breaking year 2015.
Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of bullion coins sold during varying periods of time.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday Sales | Last Week | Apr Sales | May Sale | June Sales | 2016 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 14,000 | 93,500 | 64,500 | 36,000 | 379,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 1,000 | 6,000 | 7,000 | 1,000 | 44,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 14,000 | 10,000 | 4,000 | 80,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 15,000 | 55,000 | 60,000 | 35,000 | 470,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 3,000 | 19,500 | 18,500 | 9,000 | 107,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 468,000 | 4,072,000 | 4,498,500 | 1,382,500 | 24,795,500 |
| 2016 Shawnee 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 105,000 |
| 2016 Cumberland Gap 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 0 | 64,000 | 11,000 | 0 | 75,000 |
| 2016 Harpers Ferry 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 1,200 | 64,000 | 11,000 | 34,200 | 34,200 |
