Most precious metals futures kicked of the new trading week with gains, led by gold which returned above the $1,300 an ounce level.
Gold for December delivery advanced $14, or 1.1%, to settle at $1,311.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"More safe-haven demand was featured after news reports surfaced at late-morning that a North Korean government official said weekend comments from U.S. President Donald Trump about his country are a declaration of war against the his country," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a report.
Gold futures traded from a low of $1,291.70 to a high of $1,313.80. They dropped 2.1% last week for their second consecutive weekly loss.
Silver for December delivery added 16.3 cents, or 1%, to settle at $17.147 an ounce. Silver futures ranged between $16.87 and $17.20. They tumbled 4.1% last week, ending at their lowest price since Aug. 24.
In other precious metals futures prices on Monday:
-
October platinum gained $8.10, or 0.9%, to $940.20 an ounce, trading between $925.80 and $941.40.
- Palladium for December delivery declined $10.15, or 1.1%, to $909.70 an ounce, ranging from $907 to $923.75.
Both metals declined last week with losses of 4.1% for platinum and 0.2% for palladium.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Friday PM to Monday PM:
- Gold declined $1.50, or 0.1%, to 1,293.30 an ounce.
- Silver dipped 2 cents, or 0.1%, to $16.95 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
London bullion prices last week logged declines of 2.1% for gold, 4.1% for silver, 4.2% for platinum and 0.9% for palladium.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2017
United States Mint bullion sales registered gains on Monday that reached:
- 15,000 ounces in American Palladium Eagles,
- 3,000 ounces American Gold Eagles, and
- 195,000 ounces in American Silver Eagles.
Monday marked the first day of sales for American Palladium Eagles. The new 1-ounce, .9995 palladium series features adaptations of designs by famed sculptor Adolph A. Weinman. (See images of the palladium coin.) The U.S. Mint is rationing their supply of the bullion coins; while not revealing their mintage.
Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. bullion products with columns listing the number of coins sold during varying periods. Products with an asterisk (*) are no longer available.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Last Week | August | September | YTD | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1 Oz Palladium Coin | 15,000 | N/A | N/A | 15,000 | 15,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 2,000 | 2,000 | 6,500 | 8,000 | 170,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 1,000 | 0 | 2,000 | 1,000 | 30,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 2,000 | 2,000 | 56,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 5,000 | 5,000 | 15,000 | 25,000 | 330,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 1,500 | 3,000 | 1,500 | 76,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 195,000 | 50,000 | 1,025,000 | 320,000 | 15,898,500 |
| 2017 Effigy Mounds 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35,000 |
| 2017 Frederick Douglass 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| 2017 Ozark Riverways 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| 2017 Ellis Island 5 Oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 40,000 | 0 | 40,000 |
Mike Unser –
I have a new e-mail address. Thanks!
CoinNews readers – FYI
The U.S.Mint stated over a week ago that they would offer the new Palladium American Eagle $25 1-ounce high relief bullion coin on an allocated basis to its bullion coin Authorized Purchasers & would not be striking anymore than the first batch this year (only 9 of the 13 APs worldwide made purchases of these new coins on Monday totalling 15,000 coins). It looks like 15,000 coins may be the limit, although with the Mint you just never know!
Happy collecting everyone!
-NumisdudeTX
My trust in the US Mint has been going down for some years now. Whatever they decide to do with this coin, you can bet it will benefit the big shops, with little or no thought to the individual collectors. Why should the mint be any different from any other US institution? It will be interesting to see what they do when they come out with the collectors version of this bullion coin.