Gold, silver and other precious metals kicked off the new trading week and month with modest losses.
Gold for August delivery inched lower by $1.10, or less than 0.1%, to end at $1,188.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices climbed early; then moved lower as the U.S. dollar rallied. Gold traded from a low of $1,184 to a high of $1,204.70.
"The buying just dried up above $1,200 and the dollar made a comeback and we’re right back down to where we were," Reuters quoted James Steel, chief metals analyst for HSBC Securities in New York.
The precious metal dropped last week by 1.2% but still advanced 0.6% in May.
Silver for July delivery shed 2 cents, or 0.1%, to settle at $16.68 an ounce. Prices ranged from a low of $16.59 to a high of $17.17. Silver tumbled 2.1% last week yet surged 3.4% last month.
In rounding out the precious metals complex:
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July platinum fell $7.30, or 0.7%, to $1,104.20 an ounce, trading between $1,103 and $1,124.40.
- Palladium for September delivery declined $4.35, or 0.6%, to $772.75 an ounce, ranging from $772.10 to $779.90.
London Precious Metals Prices
Earlier fixed London precious metals prices mostly pulled back, with gold the exception. In comparing London bullion prices from Friday PM to Monday PM:
- Gold rose $8.50, or 0.7%, to $1,199.90 an ounce,
- Silver fell 6 cents, or 0.4%, to $16.61 an ounce,
- Platinum lost $6, or 0.5%, $1,109 an ounce, and
- Palladium declined $10, or 1.3%, to $773 an ounce.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in June
United States Mint bullion sales started the new month with gains of 1,000 ounces in gold coins and 400,000 ounces in silver coins. They follow sluggish sales in May.
Below is a listing of U.S. Mint bullion products that shows the number of coins sold during varying periods. Products with an asterisk (*) are no longer available.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday/This Week | Last Week | May Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 4,000 | 13,500 | 136,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 1,000 | 3,000 | 32,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 4,000 | 10,000 | 58,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins | 5,000 | 10,000 | 40,000 | 310,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 500 | 2,500 | 9,500 | 76,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins | 400,000 | 375,000 | 2,023,500 | 17,346,000 |
| 2015 Homestead 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 35,000 | ||
| 2015 Kisatchie 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 12,000 | 42,000 | |
