Gold futures edged up from a more than seven-week low Monday, logging their first gain in four sessions. Silver, meanwhile, extended its string of session losses to ten in a row, ending at a new, more than four-month low.
Gold for June delivery climbed 20 cents to settle at $1,227.10 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"The result of (the French) election was pretty well forecast … Last week we had some sizeable (long) liquidation in gold and physical demand remains pretty good right now … I’m not surprised to see gold supported around current levels," Reuters quoted ICBC Standard Bank analyst Tom Kendall.
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,221 to a high of $1,236.90. They dropped 3.3% last week, for their biggest weekly decline since November, closing at their weakest point since March 15.
Elsewhere, silver futures for July delivery lost 1.6 cents, or 0.1%, to end at $16.258 an ounce. The settlement is the lowest since Dec. 30. Silver futures traded between $16.25 and $16.46. They sank 5.7% last week for their third straight weekly decline.
In other precious metals futures on Monday:
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July platinum gained $9.40, or 1%, to $919.60 an ounce, ranging from $911.30 to $925.
- Palladium for June delivery fell $7.50, or 0.9%, to $805.55 an ounce, trading between $802.25 and $817.95.
The pair of metals registered losses last week that tallied to 4.1% for platinum and 1.7% for palladium.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London bullion prices from Friday PM to Monday PM:
- Gold added $1.75, or 0.1%, to $1,229.80 an ounce.
- Silver added 11 cents, or 0.7%, to $16.38 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
Last week, London bullion prices logged losses of 3% for gold, 6.5% for silver, 3.9% for platinum and 1.8% for palladium.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2017
U.S. Mint bullion sales were unchanged as of 2:59 p.m. ET. 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 Sales | Last Week | April Sales | May Sales | 2017 Sales | |
$100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
$50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 3,500 | 2,000 | 129,000 |
$25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25,000 |
$10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 46,000 |
$5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 20,000 | 0 | 210,000 |
$50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 1,000 | 3,500 | 1,000 | 60,000 |
$1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 530,000 | 835,000 | 530,000 | 9,322,500 |
2017 Effigy Mounds 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 100 | 900 | 100 | 20,700 |
2017 Frederick Douglass 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 800 | 17,600 | 800 | 18,400 |