At the start of the new trading week on Monday, precious metals declined, with losses ranging from 0.5% for gold to closer to 2% each for silver, platinum, and palladium.
Gold for December delivery fell by $9, or 0.5%, to settle at $1,936.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"U.S. Treasury yields are on the rise and at multi-year highs, the U.S. dollar index hit a fresh 6.5-month high today and crude oil prices are lower. These are all bearish daily outside market influences on the precious metals markets,” Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, said in a daily research note.
Gold futures traded between $1,933.80 and $1,946.80. They dipped 0.03% last week.
Meanwhile, silver for December delivery dropped by 45.9 cents, or 1.9%, to finish at $23.385 an ounce. Silver futures ranged from $23.29 and $23.93. They jumped 2% last week, ending Friday at their highest price since Sept. 5.
In other precious metals prices on Monday:
-
October platinum shed $16.60, or 1.8%, to $917.50 an ounce, trading between $913.80 and $934.50.
- Palladium for December delivery declined by $24.10, or 1.9%, to $1,232 an ounce, with prices ranging between $1,230 and $1,258.
Last week, platinum edged 0.5% higher, while palladium inched 0.3% higher.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2023
U.S. Mint bullion sales have remained unchanged since Wednesday, Sept. 13. 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 | July | August | September | 2023 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 41,000 | 78,000 | 12,000 | 756,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 10,000 | 85,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 22,000 | 156,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 150,000 | 35,000 | 570,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 16,500 | 19,500 | 15,500 | 328,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 209,100,000 | 3,124,000 | 1,502,000 | 16,441,000 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12,700 |
