Gold futures climbed on Monday for a third session in a row and settled above $1,100 an ounce for the first time in nearly three weeks.
Gold for December delivery gained $10, or 0.9%, to end at $1,104.10 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the highest price since July 21, which was also when gold last closed above $1,100 an ounce.
"Gold prices ended the U.S. day session moderately higher, moved above the psychological resistance barrier of $1,100.00 and hit a three-week high Monday," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, said in a daily note. "Short covering in the futures markets and bargain hunting in the spot market were featured."
The yellow metal ranged from a low of $1,089 to a high of $1,108.50. Gold prices slipped last week by 0.1%.
Silver for September delivery soared 47 cents, or 3.2%, to settle at $15.29 an ounce. Silver prices traded between $14.71 and $15.38. They rose 0.5% last week.
In PGM futures on Monday:
-
October platinum settled up $27.60, or 2.9%, to $989.80 an ounce, ranging from $956.80 to $992.
- Palladium for September delivery tacked on $9.30, or 1.6%, to $606.20 an ounce, trading between $593 and $615.50.
London Precious Metals Prices
Earlier fixed London gold and silver prices also advanced. In comparing London bullion prices from Friday PM to Monday PM:
- Gold added $3.50, or 0.3%, to $1,097 an ounce.
- Silver rose 13 cents, or 0.9%, to $14.88 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.
Last week, silver gained 1.3% while the other metals posted declines of 0.5% for gold, 3.4% for platinum and 1.3% for palladium.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in August
United States Mint bullion products advanced on Monday with gold coins gaining 3,000 ounces and silver coins rising 718,500 ounces.
The U.S. Mint is limiting sales of American Silver Eagles, and has allocated a total of 1 million for the week. That leaves 281,500 left. Gains on Monday pushed their year-to-date sales over the 29 million mark. In 2014 when sales ended at a record 44,006,000, the coins by Aug. 10, 2014 reached sales of 27,058,500.
Below is a listing of U.S. Mint bullion products with 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 | August Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins | 2,000 | 4,000 | 144,500 | 6,000 | 349,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 10,000 | 0 | 46,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins | 2,000 | 2,000 | 28,000 | 4,000 | 102,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 5,000 | 135,000 | 5,000 | 530,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 500 | 1,000 | 32,000 | 1,500 | 130,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins | 718,500 | 1,180,000 | 5,529,000 | 1,898,500 | 29,213,500 |
| 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 | 0 | 10,000 | 0 | 45,000 |
Looking good.