Gold extended losses on Monday to four sessions and closed at a three-week low.
Gold futures for February delivery declined $3.70, or 0.2%, to end at $1,652.9 an ounce on the Comex in New York. The settlement price was the lowest since Jan. 7. The yellow metal traded through an intraday range of $1,651.00 and $1,661.60.
"Gold is losing its safe-haven status as the global economy is showing signs of improvement," Bloomberg quoted Adam Klopfenstein, a senior market strategist at Archer Financial Services Inc. in Chicago, said in a telephone interview. "Some people are on the sidelines waiting for the Fed’s decision."
Gold fell 1.8% last week as three straight sessions of declines pulled prices back from Tuesday’s five-week high of $1,693.20 an ounce.
In percentage terms, silver continues to get hit hardest among precious metals. It notched a third day of losses that totaled $1.66, or 5.1%. Silver for March delivery dropped 42.60 cents, or 1.4%, to close at $30.78 an ounce. The settlement price is the weakest since Jan. 11. The white metal had just settled to a six-week high on Wednesday at $32.44 an ounce.
In PGM future prices on Monday:
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April Platinum declined $32.70, or 1.9%, to $1,662.20 an ounce, trading between $1,659.70 and $1,699.90.
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Palladium for March delivery dipped 45.0 cents, or less than 0.1%, to $740.55 an ounce, ranging from $736.50 to $749.55.
Platinum and palladium stood by themselves with gains last week, rising 1.3% and 2.5%, respectively.
London Bullion Prices
Bullion in London split with gold and silver lower and PGM’s higher. In contrasting the Friday PM to Monday PM Fix prices:
- Gold declined $3.50, or 0.2%, to $1,656.50 an ounce,
- Silver fell 69.0 cents, or 2.2%, to $30.87 an ounce,
- Platinum edged up $3.00, or 0.2%, to $1,681.00 an ounce, and
- Palladium surged $17.00, or 2.3%, to $742.00 an ounce
London precious metals last week moved in the same direction as Monday with losses of 1.7% for gold and 0.8% for silver and advances of 0.4% for palladium and 0.1% for platinum.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales
Sales were unchanged Monday for U.S. Mint bullion coins, based on figures published on the bureau’s website. The lack of increases indicates that the U.S. Mint has yet to resume sales of its American Eagle silver bullion coins. Depleted inventories of the bullion coins resulted in their sales suspension on Jan. 17. At that time, the U.S. Mint said the earliest they would be available again was today, Jan. 28.
The latest daily, weekly and year-to-date bullion coin sales follow.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Coin Sales | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday Sales | Last Week | Week-To-Date Sales | 2013 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 3,000 | 0 | 107,000 |
| $25 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 17,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 24,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 5,000 | 0 | 105,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 27,500 | 0 | 67,000 |
| American Eagle Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6,007,000 |
No sales have been registered for U.S. Mint five ounce bullion coins since Jan. 15.
| America the Beautiful 5 Oz. Silver Bullion Coin Sales | ||
|---|---|---|
| Last Week | All-Time Sales | |
| 2012 El Yunque National Forest 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 21,900 |
| 2012 Chaco Culture National Historical Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 20,000 |
| 2012 Acadia National Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 25,400 |
| 2012 Hawai’i Volcanoes 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 20,000 |
| 2012 Denali National Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 20,000 |
| 2011 Olympic National Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 95,600 |
| 2011 Vicksburg National Military Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 41,200 |
| 2011 Chickasaw Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 31,400 |
| TOTAL | 0 | 275,500 |
Coin sales figures shown above are in the number of coins sold. Calculate total ounces by using the bullion coin’s weight.
