Precious metals ended higher on Monday for a second straight session. Gains in gold and silver were their fifth in six sessions.
Gold for August delivery rose $6.20, or 0.5%, to settle at $1,233.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement is the strongest since June 30.
"Investor sentiment (for gold) has improved quite dramatically over the past week, especially with the weak data out of the United States last week," Reuters quoted ANZ analyst Daniel Hynes. "Gold is now primed for another rally."
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,227.50 to a high of $1,235.40. They advanced 1.5% last week, their first weekly increase in six weeks.
Silver for September delivery gained 16.6 cents, or 1%, to settle at $16.099 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $15.93 and $16.17. They rallied 3.3% last week, for also their first weekly win in six weeks.
In other precious metals futures on Monday
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October platinum moved up $6.80, or 0.7%, to $930.30 an ounce, ranging from $922.20 to $937.40.
- Palladium for September advanced $8.80, or 1%, to $865.55 an ounce, trading between $851.15 and $866.95.
Last week, platinum rose 2.2% and palladium increased 3.1%.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Friday PM to Monday PM:
- Gold added $3.80, or 0.3%, to 1,234.10 an ounce.
- Silver added 36 cents, or 2.3%, to $16.07 an ounce.
Last week in LBMA prices, silver declined 0.8% with the others logged gains of 1.2% for gold, 0.8% for platinum and 3.1% for palladium.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2017
U.S. Mint bullion sales advanced by 2,000 ounces in American Gold Eagles and 210,000 ounces in American Silver Eagles.
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 | 2,000 | 5,500 | 4,000 | 9,000 | 150,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4,000 | 52,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 10,000 | 20,000 | 25,000 | 285,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 1,500 | 2,000 | 2,500 | 68,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 210,000 | 970,000 | 986,000 | 1,500,000 | 13,733,500 |
| 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 |
