Palladium scored yet another record settlement Monday. Platinum also gained on the day. Silver and gold, however, moved lower.
Gold for April delivery declined $3.30, or 0.3%, to settle at $1,329.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Gold has seen "a little profit-taking from the past few weeks along with a continued appetite for additional equity risk in the broader U.S. market," MarketWatch quoted Jeff Wright, executive vice president of GoldMining Inc. "The current feeling and signal of an imminent U.S.-China trade agreement is contributing, but not a decisive factor given Chinese interest in physical gold," which can be supportive of prices for the metal.
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,327.30 to a high of $1,334.90. They gained 0.8% last week. On Wednesday, they closed at $1,347.90 an ounce for their highest settlement since April 19.
Silver for March delivery fell 8.4 cents, or 0.5%, to settle at $15.83 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $15.80 and $15.96. They gained 1.1% last week. On Wednesday, they ended at $16.177 an ounce for their best settlement since June 29.
In other precious metals futures on Monday:
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April platinum added $7.70, or 0.9%, to $853.60 an ounce, ranging from $845.40 to $858.80.
- Palladium for March delivery surged $34.30, or 2.4%, to $1,496.50 an ounce — a fresh all-time record. Palladium prices traded between $1,456.70 and $1,508.20.
Last week, platinum jumped 4.8% and palladium gained 3.9%.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Friday PM to Monday PM
- Gold added $2.00, or 0.2%, to $1,331.05 an ounce.
- Silver rose 8.5 cents, or 0.5%, to $15.955 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
In LBMA results last week, gains totaled 1% for gold, 1.2% for silver, 5.3% for platinum, and 3.1% for palladium.
US Mint 2019 Bullion Sales
United States Mint bullion sales improved by a combined 1,000 ounces in American Eagle and Buffalo gold coins and by 100,000 ounces in American Silver Eagles.
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 | January | February | 2019 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 27,100 | 1,800 | 28,900 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 500 | 3,000 | 44,500 | 10,000 | 54,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 15,000 | 1,000 | 16,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 20,000 | 0 | 20,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 5,000 | 85,000 | 10,000 | 100,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 500 | 0 | 23,500 | 6,000 | 29,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 100,000 | 997,500 | 4,017,500 | 2,157,500 | 6,175,000 |
