Gold finished lower Monday, extending its string of losses to five straight sessions and, in turn, marking its longest slump since May.
Gold for December delivery declined $8.10, or 0.6%, to settle at $1,302.40 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The precious metal touched an intraday low of $1,296.70 and reached as high as $1,320.30.
"The dollar’s strength against the euro is pushing gold lower," David Lee, a vice president at Heraeus Precious Metals Management in New York, said in a telephone interview relayed on Bloomberg News. "Some investors are on the sidelines as they want some clarity from the Fed.”
After rising for three consecutive weeks, gold prices last week gave back 0.8%.
In other New York futures on Monday:
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Silver for September delivery shed 19.3 cents, or 1%, to $19.72 an ounce, trading between $19.52 and $19.99.
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Breaking a two-session winning streak, October platinum dipped $3.40, or 0.2%, to settle at $1,448.10 an ounce. Platinum ranged from $1,440.50 to $1,458.20.
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Palladium for September delivery gained $5.50, or 0.8%, to $735.20 an ounce, trading between $727.30 and $737.50.
The three precious metals advanced last week with gains of 0.7% for silver, 2% for platinum and 0.8% for palladium
London Fix Precious Metals
In starting the new week, London precious metals fixings split. When contrasting the Friday PM to Monday PM London Fix prices:
- Gold declined $4.50, or 0.3%, to $1,304.75 an ounce,
- Silver added 30 cents, or 1.5%, to $19.76 an ounce,
- Platinum gained $8, or 0.6%, to $1,444 an ounce, and
- Palladium advanced $3, or 0.4%, to $733 an ounce
Last week in London fixings, platinum climbed 0.6% but other metals fell with losses of 1.6% for gold, 2.8% for silver and 0.1% for palladium.
US Bullion Coin Sales
Sales totals for United States Mint bullion coins were unchanged Monday after they jumped last week for both gold and silver coins. The following are the available daily, August and year-to-date bullion coin sales totals as published by the United States Mint.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Coin Sales | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday / Week-To-Date Sales | Last Week | August Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 12,500 | 0 | 587,500 |
| $25 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 48,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 94,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 10,000 | 0 | 450,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 6,000 | 1,000 | 181,000 |
| White Mountain 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29,900 |
| Perry’s Victory 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,800 |
| Great Basin 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17,400 |
| American Silver Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 950,000 | 0 | 29,450,000 |
Figures above are in the number of coins sold, not in ounces.
