Gold prices rose slightly to start the new trading week on Monday, supported by a weaker U.S. dollar. Its pick-up was the first in three session.
Gold for June delivery inched up 40 cents to close at $1,293.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices ranged from a low of $1,289.50 to a high of $1,305.70.
"There are contradicting factors keeping the gold market in the current narrow trading range … you have a softer dollar and political tensions like the Ukraine conflict on one side," Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch said according to Reuters.
"Meanwhile, lacklustre investment demand in terms of ETFs and reports of rather soft physical demand prevented prices to increase," he said.
Gold prices climbed 0.5% last week.
Silver and platinum reversed from modest losses on Friday while palladium advanced for a second straight session. In the breakdowns:
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Silver for July delivery added 2 cents, or 0.1%, to $19.35 an ounce, trading between $19.31 and $19.69.
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July platinum rose $4.10, or 0.3%, to $1,470.20 an ounce, ranging from $1,465.30 to $1,486.
- Palladium for June delivery added 60 cents, or less than 0.1%, to $815.60 an ounce, trading between $813.80 to $824.50.
Last week, the metals scored increases of 1.1% for silver, 2.5% for platinum and 1.9% for palladium.
London Fix Precious Metals
Earlier fixed London precious metal advanced as well. When comparing London fix bullion prices from Friday PM to Monday PM:
- Gold added $10.50, or 0.8%, to $1,302 an ounce,
- Silver gained 22 cents, or 1.1%, to $19.55 an ounce,
- Platinum advanced $19, or 1.3%, to $1,483 an ounce, and
- Palladium rose $6, or 0.7%, to $822 an ounce
Gains last week totaled 0.02% for gold 0.4% for silver, 2.4% for platinum and 1.5% for palladium.
US Mint Bullion Sales
In U.S. Mint bullion sales, one-ounce American Gold Eagles advanced 1,500 on Monday. No other bullion coins logged gains.
Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of bullion coins sold on Monday, last week, last month, the month so far, and the year-to-date.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday / Week-To-Date Sales | Sales Last Week | April Sales | May Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $100 American Platinum Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 100 | 1,200 | 700 | 11,900 |
| $50 American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins | 1,500 | 2,000 | 26,000 | 13,000 | 139,500 |
| $25 American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 3,000 | 5,000 | 3,000 | 25,000 |
| $10 American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 6,000 | 20,000 | 6,000 | 68,000 |
| $5 American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 5,000 | 55,000 | 20,000 | 310,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 3,500 | 17,500 | 6,000 | 89,000 |
| $1 American Silver Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 918,000 | 3,569,500 | 3,262,000 | 20,710,000 |
| Great Smoky Mountains National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 10,600 | 3,500 | 26,500 |
| Shenandoah National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 2,000 | N/A | 17,200 | 17,200 |
