Palladium climbed slightly Monday while gold, silver and platinum declined. Gold marked its lowest price since December while silver finished near an 11-year low.
Gold for April delivery declined $30.20, or 2%, to settle at $1,486.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the lowest since Dec. 20 when gold ended at $1,480.90 an ounce.
"There is more or less a global lockdown" in the wake of the spread of COVID-19, MarketWatch quoted Chintan Karnani, chief market analyst at Insignia Consultants. "There was a mad rush for cash. Traders and investors alike sold everything which could generate cash."
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,450.90 to a high $1,574.80. They declined 9.3% last week.
Silver for March delivery tumbled $1.684, or 11.6%, to settle at $12.816 an ounce. The close was the weakest since July 13, 2009 when silver finished at $12.785 and ounce. Silver futures traded between $11.77 and $15.25. The declined 16% last week.
In other precious metals futures Monday:
-
April platinum fell $86.20, or 11.6%, to $657.70 an ounce, ranging from $562 to $775.
- Palladium for June delivery rose $5, or 0.3%, to $1,514.10 an ounce, trading between $1,355.10 and $1,759.30.
Last week, platinum lost 17% and palladium declined 38.1%.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Friday PM to Monday PM:
- Gold dropped $75.10, or 4.8%, to $1,487.70 an ounce.
- Silver tumbled $2.805, or 17.8%, to $12.965 an ounce.
In LBMA results last week, prices declined 7.2% for gold, 9.8% for silver, 12.6% for platinum, and 32.2% for palladium.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2020
United States Mint bullion products logged broad gains Monday with a combined 7,500 ounces in American Eagle and Buffalo gold coins and 337,500 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) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | February | Last Week | This Week | March | 2020 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 38,000 | 3,500 | 3,500 | 3,000 | 8,000 | 49,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 23,000 | 2,000 | 0 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 26,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 18,000 | 2,000 | 0 | 4,000 | 4,000 | 24,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 60,000 | 20,000 | 5,000 | 20,000 | 35,000 | 115,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 21,000 | 1,000 | 2,000 | 1,000 | 6,000 | 28,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 3,846,000 | 650,000 | 1,570,000 | 337,500 | 2,657,500 | 6,816,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 14,500 | 9,300 | 3,200 | 0 | 6,200 | 30,000 |
It don’t matter how low silver drops, dealers will always raise raise their premiums.maybe not as bad as the U S MINT on an ounce of numismatic silver but still pretty high.
Now that silver has been dropping greatly for about 2 weeks to a near 11-year low, will U.S. Mint Director David J. Ryder lower the ridiculously overpriced U.S. Mint silver coins, silver medals & sets with silver coins prices to a more fair level??!! And, due to extreme volatility in silver prices, will he finally implement a pricing grid/matrix for its silver products like it has had for many years for its gold, platinum & palladium products??!! Answer these important business questions for us loyal U.S. Mint customers (the few who are still left buying from you) Mr. David J.… Read more »
Here is MAJOR re-pricing of Gold and Palladium from the United States Mint for March 18th, 2020… American Eagle Gold Proof 1oz. UP $297.50 American Eagle Gold Proof ½ oz. UP $150.00 American Eagle Gold Proof ¼ oz. UP $75.00 American Eagle Gold Proof 1/10 oz. UP $32.50 American Eagle Gold Proof 4 coin set UP $562.50 American Eagle Gold Uncirculated UP $300.00 American Buffalo 24K Gold Proof UP $305.00 American Eagle Palladium Reverse Proof UP $262.50 American Liberty 24K Gold 1oz. UP $300.00 American Liberty 24K Gold 1/10 oz. UP $35.00 Commemorative Gold Proof UP $115.50 Commemorative Gold Uncirculated… Read more »
It is amazing to see just how detached from reality people at the mint really are,RIDICULOUS!
Does this make anyone wonder if the US has any gold?! You can now buy about 121 ounces of the “poor man’s gold” for 1 oz of the “rich man’s” gold. Wonder how high this ratio will go? The mint must think much higher or will they just raise the silver price too even it sinks to $8 an oz. Time will tell.
but the mint has a ratio of 36 to 1 on a proof gold eagle and it’s silver counter part? makes one scratch one’s head, doesn’t it?