The precious metals were divided at the start of the new trading week on Monday, with gold and silver gaining while platinum and palladium fell.
Rising for the second time in a row following nine consecutive losses, gold for December delivery increased by $6.50, or 0.3%, to settle at $1,923 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Gold prices are slightly up and silver prices are solidly up in midday U.S. trading Monday, with gold poking to another five-month low in overnight trading. Short covering, corrective rebounds are featured in the two precious metals. However, rising U.S. Treasury yields to start the trading week and still-bearish charts are limiting the upside for gold and silver," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, said in a daily research note. "Trading may be more subdued this week, ahead of the late-week annual Federal Reserve symposium held in Jackson Hole, Wyoming," Wyckoff added.
Gold futures traded between $1,913.60 and $1,927.90. They declined by 1.6% last week, for their fourth straight weekly loss.
Up for a third session following four straight declines, silver for September jumped 60.7 cents, or 2.7%, ending at $23.34 an ounce. Silver prices ranged from $22.71 to $23.38. Last week, they dipped by a penny, but marked their fifth consecutive weekly drop.
In other precious metals prices on Monday:
-
October platinum slipped by $1.50, or 0.2%, to $913.50 an ounce, trading between $905.20 and $919.70.
- Palladium for September delivery fell by $20.90, or 1.7%, to $1,239.10 an ounce, ranging from $1,229 to $1,272.
Last week, platinum edged up 40 cents, while palladium plunged 3.8%.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2023
On Monday, the U.S. Mint reported bullion sales gains of 36,500 ounces in American Gold Eagles, 756,000 ounces in American Silver Eagles, and 8,000 ounces in American Gold Buffalos.
The table below presents a breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products sold, with columns indicating the number of coins sold (not total ounces) during different time periods.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Last Week | June | July | August | 2023 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 36,500 | 8,000 | 35,000 | 41,000 | 52,500 | 719,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 1,000 | 0 | 2,000 | 75,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 4,000 | 0 | 2,000 | 134,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 5,000 | 60,000 | 0 | 60,000 | 445,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 8,000 | 11,500 | 17,000 | 16,500 | 19,500 | 312,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 756,000 | 760,000 | 1,482,000 | 209,100,000 | 2,339,000 | 14,154,000 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 3,500 | 0 | 0 | 12,700 |
