Precious metals posted gains on the first trading day of the new week and month. Palladium led the metals, surging 3.3% to a three-month high. Gold rose the least, climbing 0.3% to a one-month high.
Up for a fourth straight session, gold for December delivery gained $5.90 to settle at $1,787.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the best since July 1.
"Short covering from futures traders is featured in both metals [gold and silver], with cash market traders also doing some perceived bargain-basement buying after gold prices hit a 15-month low and silver a two-year low in July. Some technical buying is also featured to start the month of August, as the near-term charts are looking a bit friendlier for gold and silver," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, said in a daily research note.
Gold futures traded between $1,774.30 and $1,792.50. They surged 3.2% last week, but still ended 1.4% lower in July.
Extending its winning streak to five sessions, silver for September delivery advanced 16.5 cents, or 0.8%, to end at $20.362 an ounce. The finish was the highest since June 29. Silver futures ranged from $20.06 to $20.51. They soared 8.5% last week, trimming their loss in July to 0.8%.
In other precious metals futures prices on Monday:
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October platinum rose $11.80, or 1.3%, to $901.60 an ounce, trading between $883.10 and $911.
- Palladium for September delivery jumped $69.70 to $2,199.40 an ounce — the highest close since May 4. Palladium ranged from $2,085.50 to $2,226.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2022
Published United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged on Monday. 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 / August | May | June | July | 2022 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 164,500 | 31,000 | 59,500 | 685,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 7,000 | 6,000 | 5,000 | 71,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 8,000 | 18,000 | 2,000 | 130,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 50,000 | 135,000 | 20,000 | 525,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 56,000 | 21,500 | 39,500 | 299,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 1,350,000 | 925,000 | 850,000 | 11,556,500 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 23,500 | 15,500 | 79,000 |
