Precious metals recorded across-the-board losses at the beginning of the trading week on Monday. The losses ranged from 0.7% for both platinum and palladium to 1.5% for gold.
After three consecutive gains, gold for April delivery ended lower for a second session, dropping $30 to settle at $1,953.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Gold prices are solidly lower and silver modestly down in midday U.S. trading Monday. Both metals’ prices are up from their daily lows, however. Less risk aversion in the marketplace early this week is prompting profit taking and weak long liquidation from the futures traders," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, said in a daily research note.
Gold futures traded between $1,945 and $1,984, and climbed 0.5% last week, marking their fourth consecutive weekly gain. On Thursday, the price of gold reached $1,995.90 an ounce, logging its highest settlement since March 10, 2022.
After reaching a seven-week high, silver for May delivery fell for the first time in four sessions, shedding 19.4 cents, or 0.8%, to settle at $23.145 an ounce. Silver futures ranged from $23 to $23.49. Last week, they soared 3.9%, ending Friday at their highest settlement since Feb. 2.
In other precious metals prices on Monday:
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April platinum declined $6.80 to $977.10 an ounce, trading between $963.70 and $986.90.
- Palladium for June delivery fell $10.30 to $1,404.10 an ounce, ranging from $1,389 to $1,422.
Last week, platinum rose 0.5% and palladium gained 2%.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2023
Published U.S. 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 | Last Week | January Sales | February | March | 2023 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 107,500 | 118,000 | 41,500 | 157,500 | 317,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 37,000 | 8,000 | 1,000 | 46,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 62,000 | 12,000 | 10,000 | 84,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 115,000 | 85,000 | 10,000 | 210,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 38,500 | 59,000 | 19,500 | 57,500 | 136,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 450,000 | 3,949,000 | 900,000 | 900,000 | 5,749,000 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 7,500 | N/A | N/A | 7,500 | 7,500 |
