Gold and silver prices were little changed Monday. Both metals surged for the month and in the second quarter, as did platinum and palladium.
Gold for August delivery rose $2, or 0.2%, to close at $1,322 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The precious metal jumped 6.1% in June following three straight monthly declines and notched a 3% quarterly gain.
"Gold prices rallied in early afternoon trading Monday, pushing to a 10-week high as traders stepped in to buy the modest dip in prices that occurred in earlier trading. Technical buying, bargain hunting and a drop in the U.S. dollar index to a multi-week low prompted the buying interest in the yellow metal," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, said in a daily note. "Also, a gold-market bullish report released by the San Francisco Federal Reserve Monday may have added to the buying interest in gold. The report said U.S. interest rates will remain low for quite some time to come."
Gold prices have advanced 10% in the first half of 2014.
Silver, Platinum and Palladium Futures
Silver prices retreated for a third straight session on Monday yet soared 12.7% in June and 6.6% in the second quarter. On Monday, silver for September delivery shed 8 cents, or 0.4%, to settle at $21.06 an ounce. The white metal is ahead 8.7% for the year-to-date.
In rounding out the precious metals complex on Monday, for the month and quarter:
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October platinum added $2.60, or 0.2%, to $1,482.90 an ounce, trading 2.1% higher in June and advancing 4.4% in the second quarter.
- Palladium for September edged up 30 cents to $843.15 an ounce, gaining 0.8% on the month and 8.5% on the quarter.
Platinum and palladium have climbed 7.9% and 17.4% through the first half of the year.
London Fix Precious Metals
London precious metals split on the day. In contrasting the London bullion fix prices from Friday PM to Monday PM:
- Gold lost $2.50, or 0.2%, to $1,315 an ounce,
- Silver fell 17 cents, or 0.8%, to $20.87 an ounce,
- Platinum added $1, or 0.1%, to $1,480 an ounce, and
- Palladium rose $5, or 0.6%, to $844 an ounce
Like bullion futures in New York, London precious metals gained in June. Increases tallied to 5.2% for gold, 9.8% for silver, 1.1% for platinum and 1% for palladium.
As for the second quarter, gains were 5.2% for gold, 9.8% for silver, 1.1% for platinum and 1% for palladium. And finally, for the year so far, advances include 9.5% for gold, 7% for silver, 9% for platinum and 18.7% for palladium
US Mint Bullion Sales in June
U.S. Mint bullion sales are yet to close officially for the month, though they are not expected to change. Overall, silver coins slowed while demand for gold coins picked up. CoinNews.net will publish a more detailed analysis later, but in summary:
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American Eagle gold coins gained 48,500 ounces for the month after sales of 35,500 ounces in May. The June increase is the second highest month this year behind January’s 91,500 ounces. Still, sales for the year so far are at 266,000 ounces, well lower than sales of 629,000 ounces sold during the first half of 2013.
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2014 American Eagle silver coins added 2,692,000 compared to 3,988,500 in the previous month. June sales are the weakest since December when the 2013-dated Silver Eagles sold out on Dec. 10. Actually, sales of the silver coins have slowed sharply in the last six weeks. Silver Eagle sales for the first half of 2014 hit 24,128,500. Last year when the annual American Silver Eagle sales record was set at above 42.6 million, the coins reached 25,043,500 through the first half of 2013. Until a few weeks ago, sales this year were moving faster than last.
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American Buffalo gold coins climbed 16,000 for the month versus 12,500 in May. The total is the third highest this year.
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2014 America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Bullion Coins advanced 21,400 in June after gaining 23,100 in the previous month. Most sales came from Arches silver coins that launched on June 9, 2014.
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American Platinum Eagle coins added 700 in May after rising 1,200 in April. The platinum coin is in its 15th full week of release following a five-year hiatus.
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, this month, and the first half of the year.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday Sales | Sales Last Week Sales | May Sales | June Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $100 American Platinum Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 1,000 | 700 | 12,900 |
| $50 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 2,000 | 12,000 | 29,000 | 43,000 | 198,500 |
| $25 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 2,000 | 0 | 3,000 | 2,000 | 27,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 6,000 | 4,000 | 72,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 5,000 | 10,000 | 35,000 | 35,000 | 360,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Bullion Gold Coins | 1,000 | 3,000 | 12,500 | 16,000 | 111,500 |
| $1 American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins | 320,000 | 447,000 | 3,988,500 | 2,692,000 | 24,128,500 |
| Great Smoky Mountains National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 1,000 | 4,000 | 2,000 | 29,000 |
| Shenandoah National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 400 | 19,500 | 900 | 20,000 |
| Arches National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | -800* | 3,000 | N/A | 18,500 | 18,500 |
*On Monday, the U.S Mint reduced sales of Arches silver coins.
