Precious metals futures ended mixed in their start to the new trading week. Gold closed lower for a fifth straight session, but lost less than 0.1%.
Gold for April delivery dipped $1 to settle at $1,225.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement is the weakest since Feb. 14 when gold ended a dime lower at $1,225.40 an ounce.
"The rising optimism over the Federal Reserve raising U.S. interest rates in March has encouraged sellers to repeatedly attack gold," MarketWatch quoted Lukman Otunuga, research analyst at FXTM. "Although risk aversion from geopolitical tensions in East Asia may provide some support for the zero-yielding metal, prices are looking increasingly pressured on the daily charts."
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,225 to a high of $1,237.30. They declined 2.5% last week, for their first weekly loss since late January. Exactly one week ago, they notched a 3-1/2-month high.
Elsewhere, silver for May delivery edged up 3.3 cents, or 0.2%, to settle at $17.773 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $17.73 and $18. They fell by more than 3% last week, for their first weekly loss this year. As recently as Wednesday, prices closed at their highest level since Nov. 10.
In other precious metals futures on Monday:
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April platinum settled down $15.90, or 1.6%, to $978.20 an ounce, ranging from $977.70 to $1,003.60.
- Palladium for June delivery gained $5.45, or 0.7%, to $773.15 an ounce, trading between $765.65 and $778.55.
The two metals logged respective 3.4% and 0.7% declines last week.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London bullion prices from Friday PM to Monday PM:
- Gold added $4.45, or 0.4%, to $1,230.95 an ounce.
- Silver added 15 cents, or 0.9%, to $17.81 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
Last week, London metal prices registered losses of 2.2% for gold, 3.3% for silver, 3.9% for platinum and 3.8% for palladium.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in 2017
U.S. Mint bullion coins posted their first gains of the month with American Gold Eagles rising 1,000 ounces and American Silver Eagles gaining 230,000 ounces.
Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. bullion products with columns listing the number of coins sold during varying periods. Products with an asterisk (*) are no longer available.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday / March Sales | Last Week | Feb Sales | 2017 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 1,000 | 1,500 | 21,000 | 108,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 5,000 | 24,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 4,000 | 40,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 15,000 | 30,000 | 155,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 500 | 15,000 | 47,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 230,000 | 450,000 | 1,215,000 | 6,572,500 |
| 2017 Effigy Mounds 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 200 | 19,500 | 19,500 |
| 2016 Shawnee 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | |||
| 2016 Cumberland Gap 5 Oz Silver Coin* | – | |||
| 2016 Harpers Ferry 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 Theodore Roosevelt 5 Oz Silver Coin* | – | – | ||
| 2016 Fort Moultrie 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
