Gold futures moved higher in their start to the new trading week on Monday, posting their fifth day of gains in six sessions.
Gold for December delivery edged up $2.40, or 0.2%, to settle at $1,344.10 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Gold prices ended the U.S. day session modestly higher Monday, supported by the key ‘outside markets’ on this day: the U.S. dollar index was weaker and crude oil prices were solidly higher," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a report. "The marketplace is awaiting some big news events this week, which could provide some bigger price movement in several markets."
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,336.50 to a high of $1,346.10. They advanced last week by 2.4%, their biggest weekly gain since the end of July.
Falling for a second session in a row after climbing for two straight, silver for December delivery declined 21.4 cents, or 1.1%, to settle at $19.596 an ounce. Silver futures traded from a low of $19.47 to a high of $19.83. They surged 5% last week.
Rounding out metals trading:
-
October platinum dropped $14.10, or 1.3%, to $1,042.90 an ounce, ranging from $1,038.10 to $1,057.80.
- Palladium for December delivery settled down $10.25, or 1.5%, to $696.15 an ounce, trading between $688 and $702.40.
In their dealings last week, platinum and palladium futures logged gains of 3.9% and 5.1%.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London bullion prices from Friday PM to Monday PM:
- Gold added $1.85, or 0.1%, to $1,340.50 an ounce.
- Silver fell 38 cents, or 1.9%, to $19.44 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
Last week, they registered gains of 2.3% for gold, 4.8% for silver, 4.2% for platinum and 6.3% for palladium.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in 2016
U.S. Mint bullion sales were unchanged Monday as of 3:34 p.m. Eastern Time. Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of bullion coins sold during varying periods Products with an asterisk (*) are no longer available.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday Sales | Last Week | Aug Sales | Sept Sales | 2016 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coins* | 0 | 0 | 1,000 | 0 | 20,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 17,000 | 50,000 | 55,000 | 541,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 3,000 | 4,000 | 55,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 4,000 | 10,000 | 110,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 15,000 | 60,000 | 65,000 | 680,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 5,500 | 9,000 | 13,000 | 144,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 255,000 | 1,280,000 | 1,305,000 | 30,205,500 |
| 2016 Shawnee 5 Oz Silver Coins* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 105,000 |
| 2016 Cumberland Gap 5 Oz Silver Coins* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 75,000 |
| 2016 Harpers Ferry 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 200 | 1,900 | 200 | 36,300 |
| 2016 Theodore Roosevelt 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 0 | 27,500 | 2,500 | 30,000 |
