Precious metals declined Monday, posting losses ranging from 0.5% for gold to 1.3% for platinum. Once again, silver ended at a more than two-year low and gold finished at an almost thirteen-month low.
Gold for December delivery declined $5.50 to close at $1,217.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement is the lowest since July 13, 2017, when prices ended at $1,217.30 an ounce.
"Summertime trading conditions has many market-makers either on vacation or thinking about theirs upcoming," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a report. "Selling pressure today is related to a strong U.S. dollar."
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,215.30 to a high of $1,226. They inched up 20 cents or less than 0.1% last week, for their first weekly advance in four weeks.
Meanwhile, silver for September dropped 11.4 cents, or 0.7%, to finish at $15.348 an ounce. The settlement is the weakest since April 7, 2016 when the precious metal ended at $15.158 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $15.30 and $15.51. They shed 0.2% last week for their eighth straight weekly decline.
In other precious metals futures on Monday:
-
October platinum moved down $10.60 to $826.30 an ounce, ranging from $821.30 to $838.80.
- Palladium for September delivery lost $4.30, or 0.5%, to $903.60 an ounce, trading between $896.60 and $911.
Last week, platinum rose 0.6% and palladium fell 1.2%.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Friday PM to Monday PM:
- Gold declined $6.65, or 0.6%, to 1,209.65 an ounce.
- Silver fell 1.5 cents, or 0.1%, to $15.345 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
In LBMA results last week, prices for platinum and silver climbed respectively 0.4% and less than 0.1% while those for gold and palladium fell 0.6% and 1.1%.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2018
United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged Monday. Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of coins sold during varying periods.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Last Week | July | August | 2018 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 31,500 | 500 | 119,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 1,000 | 0 | 18,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 50,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 25,000 | 0 | 150,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 6,500 | 24,500 | 500 | 78,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 130,000 | 885,000 | 30,000 | 7,737,500 |
| Pictured Rocks 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| Apostle Islands 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| Voyageurs 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
