Prices for precious metals diverged on Monday, with platinum and palladium logging solid gains, while silver and gold declined for a second session in a row.
Gold for December delivery shed $4.40, or 0.2%, to settle at $1,980.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"The safe-haven metals bulls have lost momentum amid investor risk appetite that continues to improve heading into the holidays. There are solid clues the U.S. Federal Reserve is done raising interest rates amid falling inflation. And six weeks into the Israel-Hamas war there has been no major military escalation to involve other countries," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, said in a daily research note.
Gold futures traded between $1,967.20 and $1,987.80. They gained 2.4% last week.
Silver for December fell by 23.8 cents, or 1%, ending at $23.614 an ounce. Silver futures ranged from $23.30 and $23.87. They advanced last week by 7.1%. On Thursday, silver at $23.933 an ounce marked its best settlement since Sept. 1.
In other precious metals prices on Monday:
-
January platinum tacked on $25.70, or 2.9%, to $927.40 an ounce, trading between $899.40 and $929.10.
- Palladium for December delivery increased by $33.40, or 3.2%, to $1,092.30 an ounce, ranging from $1,053 to $1,097.50.
Last week, platinum registered a 6.6% increase, while palladium jumped by 8.2%.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2023
U.S. Mint bullion sales last changed on Thursday, and those gains were the second for this month. Advances included 18,500 ounces in American Gold Eagles, 1.083 million ounces in American Silver Eagles, and 6,500 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 | August | September | October | November | 2023 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 15,500 | 78,000 | 27,500 | 97,000 | 22,500 | 891,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 3,000 | 2,000 | 13,000 | 7,000 | 4,000 | 99,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 6,000 | 2,000 | 30,000 | 18,000 | 10,000 | 192,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 45,000 | 150,000 | 40,000 | 30,000 | 45,000 | 650,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 6,500 | 19,500 | 18,500 | 36,500 | 10,000 | 377,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 1,083,000 | 3,124,000 | 2,970,000 | 3,938,000 | 1,439,000 | 23,286,000 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12,700 |
We’re gonna party like it’s $1999