Gold futures moved lower on Monday, marking their first loss in three sessions as the U.S. dollar firmed.
Gold for December delivery declined $8.20, or 0.7%, to settle at $1,227.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The close is the weakest in a week.
"Gold is now increasingly in need of supporting fundamentals to carry it higher. This after the tailwind from short covering begins to fade given the sharp reduction witnessed during the past few weeks," Reuters quoted Saxo Bank analyst Ole Hansen.
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,226.10 to a high of $1,237.60. They rose 0.6% last week for their fourth straight weekly increase.
Silver for December delivery dropped 25.8 cents, or 1.8%, to settle at $14.442 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $14.40 and $14.78. They rose 0.3% last week.
In other precious metals futures prices on Monday:
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January platinum rose $2.50, or 0.3%, to $836.90 an ounce, ranging from $833.50 to $845.60.
- Palladium for December delivery fell $6.60, or 0.6%, to $1,079.30 an ounce, trading between $1,077.10 and $1,106.80. Last Tuesday, they ended at $1,122.80 an ounce to score an all-time record.
The two divided last week with platinum slipping 0.2% and palladium gaining 1.5%.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Friday PM to Monday PM:
- Gold declined $3.05, or 0.3%, to 1,230.80 an ounce.
- Silver shed 4 cents, or 0.3%, to $14.65 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight
In LBMA results last week, platinum declined 1.2% while the other metal prices advanced — 0.5% for both gold and silver, and 0.6% 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 | September | October | 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 | 14,500 | 17,000 | 168,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 2,000 | 26,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 4,000 | 0 | 58,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 40,000 | 10,000 | 210,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 11,000 | 5,000 | 113,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 200,000 | 2,897,500 | 1,330,000 | 13,465,000 |
| 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 |
| Cumberland Island 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 52,500 | 0 | 52,500 |
