Precious metals ended mixed in their start to the new trading week on Monday. Gold, platinum and palladium climbed slightly while silver edged lower.
Gold for June delivery added $2.80, or 0.2% to settle at $1,254 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement is the highest since last Tuesday, March 28. Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,246.40 to a high of $1,255.90.
"While the European elections, Brexit negotiations and Trump’s foreign policies could reignite safe-haven interest, gold is not without hurdles," Reuters quoted Standard Chartered. "We believe the fragile physical market and Fed rate hikes will create a softer footing for gold prices. We maintain our view that Q2 and Q3-2017 are likely to mark the strongest quarters for gold prices this year."
On Friday, gold ended the first quarter 8.6% higher.
Slipping from a one-month high, silver for May delivery shed 4.4 cents, or 0.2%, to settle at $18.212 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $18.09 and $18.29. On Friday, silver closed at its best level since March 1 and logged a 14.2% quarterly increase.
In other precious metals futures action:
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July platinum gained $5.80, or 0.6%, to $958.20 an ounce, ranging from $949.20 to $960.70.
- Palladium for June delivery rose $4.40, or 0.6%, to $802.55 an ounce, trading between $795 and $805.70.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London bullion prices from Friday PM to Monday PM:
- Gold added $2.40, or 0.2%, to $1,247.25 an ounce.
- Silver added 10 cents, or 0.6% to $18.16 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in 2017
U.S. Mint bullion sales registered gains of 2,500 ounces in gold coins and 306,500 ounces in silver coins.
A portion of the silver sales included the second 2017-dated America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Bullion Coin. Emblematic of Frederick Douglass National Historic Site in D.C., its first-day sales totaled 9,700 coins or 48,500 ounces.
Also on Monday, the U.S. Mint released rolls and bags of Frederick Douglass quarters. The five ounce silver coin and quarter share the same designs.
Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. bullion products with columns listing the number of coins sold during varying periods. Products with an asterisk (*) are no longer available.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday Sales | Last Week | Mar Sales | 2017 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 1,500 | 1,500 | 16,000 | 125,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 1,000 | 25,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 4,000 | 44,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 35,000 | 190,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 1,000 | 1,500 | 8,500 | 56,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 255,000 | 320,000 | 1,615,000 | 8,212,500 |
| 2017 Frederick Douglass 5 Oz Silver Coin | 9,700 | N/A | N/A | 9,700 |
| 2017 Effigy Mounds 5 Oz Silver Coin | 600 | 200 | 200 | 20,300 |
I’m guessing the sales figures for the 5oz Frederick Douglass are from the Mint authorized dealers, as no one has them available until mid month. I ordered mine about 2 weeks ago, the site states it will ship around the 17th.