Precious metals declined out of the gate Monday as the U.S. dollar advanced. Gold and silver fell hard, giving back more than their gains on Friday which had set them at about one-month highs.
Gold for December delivery dropped $21.20, or 1.6%, to settle at $1,275.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"This reversal is not terribly surprising because you’ve entered a holiday week and didn’t make much progress in that breakout," Reuters quoted Rob Haworth, senior investment strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management. "The dollar is strengthening … and the odds of a rate increase are starting to rise. I think we’ve priced in December and you’re starting to price in two or three next year."
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,274.10 to a high of $1,295.10. They rallied 1.8% last week, ending Friday and their best price since Oct. 16.
Silver for December delivery tumbled 53.1 cents, or 3.1%, to settle at $16.842 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $16.82 and $17.34. They jumped 3% last week, closing Friday at their strongest level since Oct. 13.
In other precious metals futures prices:
-
January platinum declined $31, or 3.3%, to $923.60 an ounce, ranging from $921.80 to $954.20.
- Palladium for December delivery lost $6.80, or 0.7%, to $986.10 an ounce, trading between $982.75 and $998.25.
Last week, platinum gained 2.4% and palladium dipped 20 cents.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Friday PM to Monday PM:
- Gold added $1.85, or 0.1%, to 1,286.20 an ounce.
- Silver rose 6 cents, or 0.4%, to $17.145 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
Last week in London bullion prices, gold gained 5 cents, silver added 0.5%, platinum was flat and palladium declined 0.3%.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2017
United States Mint bullion sales advanced by 2,000 ounces in gold coins and by 37,500 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 | October | November | YTD | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1 Oz Palladium Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 2,000 | 2,500 | 11,000 | 7,000 | 188,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 32,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 58,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 10,000 | 30,000 | 10,000 | 370,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 500 | 7,000 | 1,000 | 84,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 30,000 | 175,000 | 1,040,000 | 295,000 | 17,233,500 |
| 2017 Effigy Mounds 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 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 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| 2017 Ellis Island 5 Oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40,000 |
| 2017 George Rogers Clark 5 Oz Silver Coin* | 1,500 | 30,900 | N/A | 32,400 | 32,400 |
