Precious metals futures advanced Monday as a group. Gains in gold and silver were more modest compared to the over 2% increases in platinum and palladium.
Gold for December delivery tacked on $10.40, or 0.9%, to settle at $1,194.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Gold’s overdue a relief rally after last week’s sell off," Adrian Ash, head of research at BullionVault, told MarketWatch. "Bargain-hunting by long-term allocators is also playing a part," he said.
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,189.60 to a high of $1,196.90. They dropped 2.9% last week, marking their biggest weekly decline in more than a year. On Thursday, gold settled at $1,184 an ounce — its worst level since Jan. 6, 2017.
Meanwhile, silver for September rose 3.9 cents, or 0.3%, to settle at $14.67 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $14.62 and $14.83. They sank 4.3% last week, registering a year-to-date loss of 14.7%.
In other precious metals prices on Monday:
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October platinum surged $16.60, or 2.1%, to $793.90 an ounce, ranging from $786.10 to $797.90.
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Palladium for September delivery jumped $20.90, or 2.4%, to $898.70 an ounce, trading between $886.30 and $903.50.
Last week, platinum tumbled 6.3% and platinum fell 2.6%.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Friday PM to Monday PM:
- Gold rose $5.95, or 0.5%, to 1,184.35 an ounce.
- Silver added 9.5 cents, or 0.7%, to $14.755 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
In LBMA results last week, prices declined 3% for gold, 4.7% for silver, 5.9% for platinum, and 1.8% for palladium.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2018
United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged. Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of coins sold during varying periods.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Last Week | July | August | 2018 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 4,000 | 31,500 | 10,500 | 129,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 19,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 2,000 | 2,000 | 52,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 5,000 | 25,000 | 5,000 | 155,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 8,500 | 24,500 | 18,000 | 96,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 690,000 | 885,000 | 955,000 | 8,662,500 |
| Pictured Rocks 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| Apostle Islands 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| Voyageurs 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
