Precious metals settled lower in a quiet session Monday, the start of another holiday-shortened trading week with U.S. markets closed on Thursday for New Year’s Day.
Gold for February delivery declined $13.40, or 1.1%, to end at $1,181.90 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Gold slipped on dollar strength combined with upbeat economic activity at the end of the year, and some gold bulls are giving up on their positions," Bloomberg News quoted Phil Streible, a senior market strategist at RJO Futures in Chicago.
Gold prices ranged from a low of $1,178.60 to a high of $1,197.50. Gold dipped 70 cents last week as losses were paired with a Friday jump in prices of $21.80.
Silver for March delivery settled down 37 cents, or 2.3%, to $15.78 an ounce, with prices ranging from $15.72 to $16.26. Silver shot up 44 cents on Friday and that brought its weekly gain to 0.7%.
In PGM futures on Monday:
-
April platinum fell $17.20, or 1.4%, to $1,202.70 an ounce, trading between $1,193.90 and $1,221.
- Palladium for March delivery gave up $6.60, or 0.8%, to $812 an ounce, ranging from $808.30 to $819.
Last week, platinum jumped 1.9% and palladium surged 1.7%.
London Fix Precious Metals
Until today, UK markets had been closed since Wednesday morning. When comparing those AM precious metals fixings to the PM Fix on Monday:
- Gold added $8.50, or 0.7%, to $1,185.50 an ounce,
- Silver rose 23 cents, or 1.5%, to $16 an ounce,
- Platinum gained $24, or 2%, to $1,214 an ounce, and
- Palladium edged up $3, or 0.4%, to $813 an ounce.
Last week, palladium picked up 1.8% while the other metals registered losses of 1.6% for gold and 0.6% for both silver and platinum.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in December
United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged as of 3:38 PM ET. Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of bullion coins sold last week, last month, in December, and the year to date. Coins with an asterisk (*) have sold out.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday Sales | Last Week | November Sales | December Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $100 American Platinum Eagle Bullion Coins* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16,900 |
| $50 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 1,000 | 49,000 | 13,000 | 415,500 |
| $25 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 8,000 | 0 | 46,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 12,000 | 6,000 | 118,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 5,000 | 40,000 | 35,000 | 565,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 12,500 | 4,500 | 177,500 |
| $1 American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins* | 0 | 501,000 | 3,426,000 | 2,459,000 | 44,006,000 |
| 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 | 1,100 | 24,400 |
| Arches National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22,000 |
| Great Sand Dunes 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 1,700 | 4,000 | 21,900 |
| Everglades 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 27,000 | 7,000 | 34,000 |
