Monday saw a decline in precious metals, with losses spanning from silver, which remained nearly unchanged, to a 3.7% drop for palladium. Gold ended the day close to its lowest point in four weeks.
Gold for February delivery shed $16.30, or 0.8%, to settle at $2,033.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the lowest since Dec. 13.
"Amid a lack of major fresh, fundamental news to start the trading week, precious metals traders are focusing on the outside markets, and raw commodity sector leader crude sees its price sharply down,” Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, said in a daily research note.
Gold futures traded between $2,022.70 and $2,053.30. They slipped by 1.1% last week.
Edging lower following two consecutive gains, silver for March delivery dipped by a half cent, closing at $23.31 an ounce. Silver futures ranged from $23.02 to $23.41. Last week, silver prices declined by 3.2%.
In other precious metals prices on Monday:
-
April platinum gave back $12.40, or 1.3%, to $959.40 an ounce, trading between $955.70 and $976.80.
- Palladium for March delivery lost $38.40 to $998.70 an ounce, ranging from $994 to $1,040.50.
Last week, platinum fell by 3.7% and palladium plunged by 6.5%.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2024
On Friday, and then again on Monday, the U.S. Mint reported no new gains in bullion sales after additions in each of the first three days of the week.
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 / January | October | November | December | 2023 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 39,500 | 97,000 | 40,000 | 15,000 | 924,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 17,000 | 7,000 | 6,000 | 1,000 | 102,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 30,000 | 18,000 | 16,000 | 0 | 198,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 40,000 | 30,000 | 55,000 | 15,000 | 675,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 23,000 | 36,500 | 14,000 | 5,500 | 387,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 3,179,000 | 3,938,000 | 2,378,000 | 525,000 | 24,750,000 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12,700 |
