Gold and silver futures somewhat rebounded Monday after sinking on Friday with gold ending at an almost 4-month low and silver closing at its worst price of the year.
Gold for August delivery added $3.50, or 0.3%, to end at $1,213.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Gold and silver prices ended a typical summertime U.S. trading session slightly higher on some perceived bargain-basement buying in the cash markets and on the covering of previously established short positions (short covering) in the futures markets," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a report. "The bears still have a firm grip on both precious metals markets," Wyckoff added.
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,204 to a high of $1,215. On Friday, they closed at their lowest level since March 15 and posted a 2.6% weekly decline.
Meanwhile, silver for September delivery tacked on 20.4 cents, or 1.3%, to settle at $15.629 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $15.14 and $15.71. They sank 7.2% last week, closing Friday at their weakest point since April 8, 2016.
In other precious metals prices on Monday:
-
October platinum shed $2.20, or 0.2%, to $901.90 an ounce, ranging from $894.10 to $910.20.
- Palladium for September added $6.10, or 0.7%, to $837.35 an ounce, trading between $826 and $839.15.
Losses for the two metals last week totaled 2.4% for platinum and 0.7% for palladium.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Friday PM to Monday PM:
- Gold declined $3.75, or 0.3%, to $1,211.90 an ounce.
- Silver declined 6.2 cents, or 3.9%, to $15.22 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
Last week, LBMA prices registered drops of 2.1% for gold, 3.8% for silver, 1.2% for platinum and 0.8% for palladium.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2017
U.S. Mint bullion sales advanced by 6,500 ounces in gold coins and by 670,000 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 | June | July | YTD | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 5,000 | 1,500 | 4,000 | 6,500 | 147,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 4,000 | 0 | 4,000 | 52,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 5,000 | 15,000 | 20,000 | 20,000 | 280,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 1,000 | 1,000 | 2,000 | 2,000 | 68,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 670,000 | 320,000 | 986,000 | 990,000 | 13,223,500 |
| 2017 Effigy Mounds 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 8,800 | 0 | 35,000 |
| 2017 Frederick Douglass 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| 2017 Ozark Riverways 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 20,000 | 0 | 20,000 |
This article was edited to include updated U.S. Mint bullion figures.
