Precious metals futures kicked off the new trading week and month with losses ranging from 0.5% for gold to 1.8% for platinum. Gold edged near a fresh 5-1/2-year settlement low.
Gold for December delivery lost $5.70 to end at $1,089.40 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Gold is coming under pressure from all angles," MarketWatch quoted Fawad Razaqzada, technical analyst at Forex.com told MarketWatch via email. "Clearly, gold traders are worried about the impact of the forthcoming U.S. interest-rate rise, which is underpinning the dollar and undermining the buck-denominated precious metal."
The precious metal ranged from a low of $1,087.30 to a high of $1,098. Gold prices plummeted 6.5% in July, though they climbed last week for the first time in six weeks.
Silver for September delivery declined 23 cents, or 1.6%, to close at $14.52 an ounce. Silver prices traded between $14.42 and $14.77. They fell in July by 5.4% but surged last week by 1.8%.
In other precious metals futures on Monday:
-
October platinum shed $17.90 to $967.10 an ounce, ranging from $957 to $987.
- Palladium for September delivery settled down $7.65, or 1.3%, to $603.20 an ounce, trading between $592.50 and $626.55.
They split last week with platinum up 0.4% and palladium down 1.9%. In July, platinum plunged 8.8% and palladium tumbled 9.2%.
London Precious Metals Prices
Earlier fixed London gold and silver prices were divided. In comparing London bullion prices from Friday PM to Monday PM:
- Gold slipped $6.50, or 0.6%, to $1,091.90 an ounce.
- Silver added 17 cents, or 1.2%, to $14.73 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 August
Following exceptional gains last month, United States Mint bullion sales on Monday were limited to American Silver Eagles. The coins advanced 810,500 to 27,315,000 for the year. In 2014 when sales ended at a record 44,006,000, the coins by Aug. 3, 2014 reached 26,103,500.
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 Sales | Last Week | July Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 22,000 | 144,500 | 343,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 3,000 | 10,000 | 46,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 6,000 | 28,000 | 98,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 20,000 | 135,000 | 525,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 6,500 | 32,000 | 128,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins | 810,500 | 2,820,000 | 5,529,000 | 28,125,500 |
| 2015 Homestead 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 35,000 | ||
| 2015 Kisatchie 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 42,000 | ||
| 2015 Blue Ridge Parkway 5 Oz Silver Coins* | 0 | 2,400 | 10,000 | 45,000 |
