Gold, silver and palladium ended lower in their start to the new trading week on Monday while platinum was little changed.
Gold for August delivery declined $9.80, or 0.8%, to settle at $1,246.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The close is the lowest since May 16.
"Gold probably heads lower here, just because of the fundamental factors lining up against it," Bloomberg News quoted Rob Haworth, a Seattle-based senior investment strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management, which oversees $142 billion. "The Fed is on this path for better or for worse, to normalize rates. We’re getting good growth in Europe and the ECB is certainly not in the position where it has to add to accommodation."
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,244.30 to a high of $1,257.30. They declined 1.2% last week, for their second straight weekly loss.
Ending down for a third session in a row, silver for July delivery gave up 15.9 cents, or 1%, to close at $16.502 an ounce. The settlement is also the weakest since May 12. Silver futures traded between $16.44 and $16.68. They fell last week by 1.7%.
In other precious metals dealings:
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July platinum edged up 10 cents to $926.90 an ounce, ranging from $918.20 to $929.50.
- After notching its best close since September 2014, palladium for September delivery fell $10.05, or 1.2%, to $855.60 an ounce. Prices traded between $852.50 and $868.35.
The two metals were divided last week with platinum falling 1.4% and palladium rising 1.1%.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Friday PM to Monday PM:
- Gold declined $7.25, or 0.6%, to $1,248.15 an ounce.
- Silver lost 9 cents, or 0.6%, to $16.67 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
Last week, LBMA prices registered declines of 0.9% for gold, 3.4% for silver, 1.7% for platinum, and 3% for palladium.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2017
U.S. Mint bullion sales logged gains of 1,000 ounces in gold coins and 200,200 ounces in silver coins. 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 | Last Week | May | June | YTD | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 1,000 | 1,000 | 10,000 | 2,000 | 139,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 27,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 48,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 5,000 | 30,000 | 10,000 | 250,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 500 | 5,000 | 1,000 | 65,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 200,000 | 205,000 | 2,455,000 | 634,000 | 11,881,500 |
| 2017 Effigy Mounds 5 Oz Silver Coin | 200 | 500 | 5,600 | 2,700 | 28,900 |
| 2017 Frederick Douglass 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 2,400 | 0 | 20,000 |
| 2017 Ozark Riverways 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 2,800 | N/A/ | 20,000 | 20,000 |
