Gold prices on Monday retreated to a two-week low in thin post-holiday trading. The loss marked the third in four sessions.
Gold for June delivery shed $5.40, or 0.4%, to settle at $1,288.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The closing price was the weakest since April 3. Gold ranged from a low of $1,281.80 to a high of $1,302.50.
"The bearish technical posture presently gripping the gold market is prompting keener selling interest amid a lack of fresh, bullish fundamental news at present," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a report.
Gold prices ended the Easter-shortened week on Thursday at $1,293.90 an ounce for a weekly loss of 1.9%.
Other precious metals recorded weighty declines in starting the new trading week. In their daily breakdowns:
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Silver for May delivery lost 25 cents, or 1.3%, to $19.35 an ounce, trading between $19.23 and $19.71.
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July platinum declined $28, or 2%, to $1,400.70 an ounce, ranging from $1,399.80 to $1,418.20.
- Palladium for June delivery tumbled $29.30, or 3.6%, to $777.80 an ounce, trading between $766.90 and $802.
The three metals were mixed last week with palladium edging higher by 30 cents while silver fell 1.8% and platinum plunged 2.3%.
London Fix Precious Metals
London markets shut down for Good Friday and Easter Monday holiday. The most recent PM fixings changes from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM had:
- Gold falling $2.50, or 0.2%, to $1,299 an ounce,
- Silver rising 2 cents, or 0.1%, to $19.62 an ounce,
- Platinum dropping $5, or 0.3%, to $1,437 an ounce, and
- Palladium gaining $1, or 0.1%, to $801 an ounce
Last week, palladium rose 0.9% while the other metals logged declines of 1.4% for gold, 2.3% for silver and 1.2% for platinum.
US Mint Bullion Sales in March
U.S. Mint silver bullion coins advanced by 694,500 ounces with splits of 691,500 in one-ounce American Silver Eagles and 600 in five-ounce America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coins.
In related coins news about the latter, the U.S. Mint announced that it has temporarily sold out of Great Smoky Mountains National Park 5 Ounce Silver Bullion Coins. Sales hit 23,000 with the 600 increase on Monday.
The bureau said it is "in the process of producing additional inventory" and that it "will likely have additional coins in a few weeks."
The Great Smoky Mountains bullion coin launched on March 17 with the Mint noting around the time that it expected to produce enough to fulfill demand. The related collector version is nearing a sellout with last reported sales at 21,415 of the maximum 25,000. The U.S. Mint has not yet released the other five-ounce 2014 coins — bullion or collector versions.
Below is a sales breakdown for U.S. Mint bullion products with columns offering the number of bullion coins sold on Monday, last week, last month, the month-to-date, and the year-to-date.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday Sales | Sales Last Week | March Sales | April Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $100 American Platinum Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 300 | 10,000 | 900 | 10,900 |
| $50 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 7,500 | 16,000 | 19,500 | 120,000 |
| $25 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 1,000 | 18,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 8,000 | 4,000 | 18,000 | 60,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 10,000 | 30,000 | 30,000 | 270,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 3,000 | 12,000 | 13,000 | 78,500 |
| $1 American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins | 691,500 | 1,085,000 | 5,354,000 | 3,120,000 | 16,999,000 |
| Great Smoky Mountains National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 600 | 7,400 | 12,400 | 10,600 | 23,000 |
