Precious metals diverged on Monday, with prices of gold and silver closing lower and those for platinum and palladium climbing higher.
Down for a second session, after reaching a one-month high and logging four consecutive gains, gold for April delivery gave back $10.80, or 0.5%, to settle at $2,042.90 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Gold and silver prices are solidly lower in midday U.S. trading Monday, as the key ‘outside markets’ are in bearish daily postures for the precious metals: the U.S. dollar index is firmly higher and U.S. Treasury yields are rising,” Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, said in a daily research note.
Gold futures traded between $2,030.80 and $2,059.10. They advanced by 1.8% last week. On Thursday, the yellow metal settled at $2,071.10 an ounce marked for its highest price since Jan. 2. Year-to-date, gold is down 0.9%.
Meanwhile, silver for March delivery shed 37.4 cents, or 1.6%, ending at $22.422 an ounce. Silver futures ranged from $22.32 to $22.84. They slipped by 0.3% last week.
In other precious metals prices on Monday:
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April platinum edged up by $1.90, or 0.2%, to $903.50 an ounce, trading between $897.20 and $910.70.
- Palladium for March delivery rose by $7.10, or 0.8%, to $956.10 an ounce, ranging from $925.50 to $962.
Last week, platinum fell by 2.1% and palladium declined by 1.3%.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2024
The U.S. Mint last updated its bullion sales figures on Thursday, Feb. 1, when it adjusted bullion sales for January, increasing American Gold Eagles by 3,500 ounces and American Gold Buffalos by 500 ounces.
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 / February | Last Week | November | December | 2023 Sales | January | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 16,500 | 40,000 | 15,000 | 924,000 | 87,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 3,000 | 6,000 | 1,000 | 102,000 | 25,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 6,000 | 16,000 | 0 | 198,000 | 46,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 25,000 | 55,000 | 15,000 | 675,000 | 115,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 8,000 | 14,000 | 5,500 | 387,000 | 46,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 2,378,000 | 525,000 | 24,750,000 | 4,900,000 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12,700 | 0 |
