Gold and silver finished lower on Monday as European creditors agreed to rescue Greece from the edge of financial collapse. Gold futures closed down for a third consecutive session while silver ended lower for the first time in four sessions.
Gold for August delivery shed $2.50, or 0.2%, to settle at $1,155.40 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Gold has failed to perform throughout the crisis, while the expectation for a rate hike in the U.S. has gone on for so long that the gold price is now close to the cost of production," Reuters quoted bullion broker Sharps Pixley CEO Ross Norman.
The yellow metal traded from a low of $1,149.80 to a high of $1,163.90. Gold prices last week dipped by 0.5% for their third straight weekly loss.
Silver for September delivery dipped 2 cents, or 0.2%, to close at $15.46 an ounce. Silver prices ranged from $15.27 to $15.90. Like gold, they slipped last week by 0.5%.
In other precious metals futures on Monday:
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October platinum gained $3.70, or 0.4%, to $1,036 an ounce, trading between $1,021.20 and $1,038.10.
- Palladium for September rose $8.60, or 1.3%, to $658.95 an ounce, ranging from $641 to $667.60.
Last week, platinum dived 4.8% and palladium plunged 6.3%.
London Precious Metals Prices
Earlier fixed London gold and silver prices moved little or not at all. In comparing London bullion prices from Friday PM to Monday PM:
- Gold shed $5.30, or 0.5%, to $1,154 an ounce, and
- Silver was unchanged at $15.45 an ounce.
LBMA Platinum and Palladium prices are displayed on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight after the setting of the prices each day.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in July
All available United States Mint bullion products advanced on Monday with gold coins up 6,500 ounces and silver coins up 28,500 ounces. These gains follow exceptionally strong increases last week with weekly gold sales the highest of the year and 2015 American Silver Eagles temporarily selling out.
All silver sales on Monday came from the return of the Blue Ridge Parkway Five Ounce Silver Bullion Coin. The coin temporarily sold out on its launch day, June 22, when the Mint’s entire supply of 35,000 was claimed. Another 5,700 sold on Monday. Silver Eagle sales are expected to resume next week.
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. Those with a double asterisk (**) are temporarily unavailable.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday Sales | Last Week | June Sales | July Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins | 3,500 | 47,000 | 62,500 | 59,500 | 258,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 1,000 | 1,000 | 4,000 | 3,000 | 39,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins | 2,000 | 8,000 | 12,000 | 14,000 | 84,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins | 10,000 | 50,000 | 85,000 | 65,000 | 455,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 1,000 | 5,500 | 21,000 | 9,000 | 105,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins** | 0 | 1,927,000 | 4,840,000 | 2,709,000 | 24,495,000 |
| 2015 Homestead 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 35,000 | |||
| 2015 Kisatchie 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 42,000 | |||
| 2015 Blue Ridge Parkway 5 Oz Silver Coins | 5,700 | – | 35,000 | 5,700 | 40,700 |
