Gold settled lower for a fourth straight session on Monday as the U.S. dollar continued to rally. Other precious metals, however, logged gains.
Gold for December delivery shed $1.80, or 0.2%, to close at $1,169.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"The prospect of firmer rates, coupled with our expectation for a stronger dollar, present significant headwinds for gold and are likely to skew risks to the downside," Reuters quoted Suki Cooper, precious metals analyst at Barclays Capital.
Gold traded from a low of $1,161 to a high of $1,173.40. Ending with a $27 loss on Friday at $1,171.60 an ounce, gold marked an October decline of 3.3%.
Closing higher for the first time in three sessions, silver for December delivery tacked on a dime, or 0.6%, to $16.20 an ounce. Silver prices ranged from $15.74 to $16.22. They tumbled last month by 5.6%.
In other precious metals trading on Monday:
-
January platinum rose $7.60, or 0.6%, to $1,242.80 an ounce, trading between $1,223.50 and $1,245.20.
- Palladium for December delivery turned up $12.60, or 1.6%, to $804.40 an ounce, ranging from $788.20 to $809.
London Fix Precious Metals
Earlier fixed London precious metals were mixed. In contrasting London bullion Fix prices from Friday PM to Monday PM:
- Gold added $3.50, or 0.3%, to $1,167.75 an ounce,
- Silver fell 5 cents, or 0.3%, to $16.15 an ounce,
- Platinum gained $14, or 1.1%, to $1,241 an ounce, and
- Palladium rose $16, or 2%, to $800 an ounce
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in November
United States Mint bullion coins rallied to start November with gold coin sales jumping 14,500 ounces and silver coin sales advancing 736,000 ounces. Gains extended from an exceptional October when gold coin sales were the highest since January 2014 and silver coin sales were the highest since January 2013.
New to sales charts is the Everglades National Park Five Ounce Silver Bullion Coin. It opened Monday with sales of 22,000 coins, surpassing the prior release.
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, and the year to date.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday Sales | Last Week | October Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $100 American Platinum Eagle Bullion Coins | N/A | 400 | 16,700 | |
| $50 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 10,500 | 11,000 | 57,500 | 364,000 |
| $25 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 1,000 | 0 | 6,000 | 39,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 2,000 | 0 | 8,000 | 102,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 5,000 | 10,000 | 50,000 | 495,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Bullion Gold Coins | 2,500 | 500 | 21,000 | 163,000 |
| $1 American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins | 625,000 | 1,850,000 | 5,790,000 | 38,666,000 |
| Great Smoky Mountains National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33,000 |
| Shenandoah National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 500 | 900 | 22,400 |
| Arches National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22,000 |
| Great Sand Dunes 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 200 | 0 | 4,200 | 16,400 |
| Everglades 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 22,000 | N/A | N/A | 22,000 |
