Gold, silver and other precious metals ended lower to start the new trading week on Monday.
In other bullion news, the United States Mint sold American Silver Eagles for the first time since its inventory sold out on Nov. 5. Buyers snapped up more than one million, lifting the 2014 Silver Eagle sales total to over 40 million, the second highest ever for a year. More about that later…
Returning to precious metals, gold for December delivery slipped $2.10, or 0.2%, to close at $1,183.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold prices ranged from a low of $1,181.30 to a high of $1,193.60.
"Friday’s bounce has eased some nerves, and some of gold’s internal supply-and-demand fundamentals actually look pretty strong. But to most investors that matters little while the bearish external factors such as the stronger dollar remain such a heavy weight," Reuters quoted Macquarie analyst Matthew Turner.
Gold advanced 1.4% last week, supported by a 2.1% push on Friday.
Silver for December delivery shed 26 cents, or 1.6%, to settle at $16.06 an ounce. The precious metal traded between $16.05 and $16.46. Silver prices jumped 3.8% last week and rallied 4.4% on Friday.
In other precious metals trading:
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January platinum fell $11.80, or 1%, to $1,201.30 an ounce, ranging from $1,197.50 to $1,214.80.
- Palladium for December delivery turned down $2.65, or 0.3%, to $768.70 an ounce, trading between $761.60 and $775.80.
Last week, platinum edged up 30 cents and palladium dipped 0.2%
London Fix Precious Metals
Earlier fixed London precious metals surged Monday, making up ground from large gains made in U.S. trading on Friday. When comparing London bullion Fix prices from Friday PM to Monday PM:
- Gold rose $13.50, or 1.2%, to $1,182.50 an ounce,
- Silver jumped 85 cents, or 5.5%, to $16.20 an ounce,
- Platinum gained $24, or 2%, to $1,202 an ounce, and
- Palladium added $11, or 1.4%, to $771 an ounce
Last week, London precious metals fell by 1.3% for gold, 0.5% for silver, 1.7% for platinum and 0.4% for palladium.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in November
United States Mint bullion sales on Monday included 4,000 ounces in gold coins and 1,037,000 ounces in silver coins.
Silver Eagles advanced 1,012,000. Last week, the Mint said it would have over 1 million ready for today and those would be rationed. At 40,393,000 coins sold in 2014 so far, there is now just one stronger year in the Silver Eagle’s 29-year history — 2013 at 42,675,000 coins.
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, in November and the year to date.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday Sales | Last Week | October Sales | November Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $100 American Platinum Eagle Bullion Coins | N/A | 400 | N/A* | 16,700 | |
| $50 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 1,500 | 10,000 | 57,500 | 40,500 | 394,000 |
| $25 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 6,000 | 4,000 | 42,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 2,000 | 4,000 | 8,000 | 10,000 | 110,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 15,000 | 50,000 | 30,000 | 520,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Bullion Gold Coins | 2,000 | 2,000 | 21,000 | 10,000 | 170,500 |
| $1 American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins | 1,012,000 | 0 | 5,790,000 | 2,272,000 | 40,393,000 |
| Great Smoky Mountains National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33,000 |
| Shenandoah National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 900 | 400 | 22,800 |
| Arches National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22,000 |
| Great Sand Dunes 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 4,200 | 600 | 16,800 |
| Everglades 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 5,000 | 0 | N/A | 27,000 | 27,000 |
*The U.S. Mint stopped selling bullion Platinum Eagles on Oct. 1. The agency will begin selling 2015-dated issues in early January.
