Gold ended flat to start the new trading week on Monday, staying above $1,300 an ounce yet still headed for a July decline.
Gold for August delivery ended at $1,303.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"In view of the numerous geopolitical risks — fighting has increased again recently in the east of Ukraine, for example, and the cease-fire in the Gaza Strip failed to hold — gold is clearly in greater demand again as a safe haven," MarketWatch quoted Eugen Weinberg, head of commodity research at Commerzbank in Frankfurt.
"However, because physical demand in China and India, the two most important gold markets, is subdued at present, the latest price rises were doubtless attributable above all to short-term-oriented market participants."
Gold traded from an intraday low of $1,301.10 to a high of $1,309.40. Gold prices last week slipped 0.5%. They are off 2.3% for the month so far.
Silver for September delivery declined 7 cents, or 0.3%, to $20.57 an ounce. Silver prices ranged from $20.55 to $20.78. They fell 1.2% last week.
In PGM futures on Monday:
-
October platinum gained $11.70, or 0.8%, to $1,490.30 an ounce, trading between $1,479.10 and $1,494.60.
- Palladium for September tacked on 95 cents, or 0.1%, to $880.75 an ounce, ranging between $877.75 and $889.90.
Platinum lost 0.8% last week while palladium dipped 0.2%.
London Fix Precious Metals
Earlier fixed London precious metals rose. In contrasting the London bullion fix prices from Friday PM to Monday PM:
- Gold gained $9.75, or 0.8%, to $1,304.50 an ounce,
- Silver added 17 cents, or 0.8%, to $20.63 an ounce,
- Platinum rose $13, or 0.9%, to $1,486 an ounce, and
- Palladium turned up $8, or 0.9%, to $884 an ounce
Last week, London precious metals tagged declines of 1% for gold, 2.3% for silver, 1.6% for platinum and 0.6% for palladium.
US Mint Bullion Sales in July
United States Mint bullion sales advanced by 1,500 ounces in American Gold Eagles and by 25,000 ounces in American Silver Eagles. 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 to date, and the year to date.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday Sales | Sales Last Week | June Sales | July Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $100 American Platinum Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 700 | 0 | 12,900 |
| $50 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 1,500 | 3,000 | 43,000 | 26,000 | 223,000 |
| $25 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 27,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 4,000 | 6,000 | 78,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 5,000 | 35,000 | 25,000 | 385,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 1,500 | 16,000 | 5,500 | 117,000 |
| $1 American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins | 25,000 | 615,000 | 2,692,000 | 1,665,000 | 25,793,500 |
| Great Smoky Mountains National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 500 | 2,000 | 500 | 29,500 |
| Shenandoah National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 900 | 0 | 20,000 |
| Arches National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 18,500 | 1,500 | 20,000 |
