Gold, silver and palladium declined Monday while platinum gained. Ending the day at an 11-month low, gold’s loss was its fourth in a row.
Gold for April delivery fell $20.50, or 1.2%, to settle at $1,678 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the lowest since gold closed at $1,645.70 an ounce on April 3.
"We have an economy that is recovering and inflation is materializing; that ultimately means yields have room to move higher," Reuters quoted Bart Melek, head of commodity strategies at TD Securities, adding that gold could fall towards $1,660 from the fallout.
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,673.30 to a high of $1,712. They traded 1.8% lower last week.
Silver for May delivery edged down 1.8 cents, or 0.07% to settle at $25.269 an ounce. The close was silver’s weakest since it finished at $24.866 an ounce on Jan. 15. Silver futures traded between $24.97 and $25.97. They sank 4.4% last week.
In other precious metals futures prices Monday:
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April platinum rose $24, or 2.1%, to $1,152.30 an ounce, ranging from $1,118.60 to $1,158.30.
- Palladium for June delivery lost $14.90, or 0.6%, to $2,314.20 an ounce, trading between $2,308 and $2,352.50.
Last week platinum lost 4.8% and palladium increased 0.7%.
London Precious Metals Prices (LBMA)
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Friday PM to Monday PM:
- Gold declined $9.20, or 0.5%, to $1,687.05 an ounce.
- Silver fell 20 cents, or 0.8%, at $25.155 an ounce.
In LBMA results last week, prices fell 2.7% for gold, 5%, for silver, 6.7% for platinum and 0.6% for palladium.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2021
United States Mint bullion sales increased Monday by 811,000 ounces in American Silver Eagles and 11,000 ounces in American Gold Eagles.
Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint 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 | January Sales | February Sales | March Sales | 2021 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 6,500 | 6,500 | 191,000 | 121,000 | 13,000 | 325,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 22,000 | 9,000 | 0 | 31,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 20,000 | 36,000 | 0 | 20,000 | 56,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 45,000 | 0 | 95,000 | 0 | 45,000 | 140,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 11,000 | 61,500 | 16,000 | 11,000 | 88,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 811,000 | 761,000 | 4,775,000 | 3,191,500 | 1,572,000 | 9,538,500 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 30,500 | N/A | N/A | 30,500 | 30,500 |
| America Samoa 5 oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Weir Farm 5 oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Salt River Bay 5 oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Marsh Billings 5 oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tallgrass Prairie 5 oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
