Precious metals futures declined in their start Monday to the new trading week. Losses ranged from 0.3% for gold to 1% for both platinum and palladium.
Gold for February delivery shed $3.20, or 0.3%, to settle at $1,249.40 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Gold "losses were limited on expectations that there might be a pause in the [Federal Reserve interest] rate hike cycles in 2019 –sooner than expected," said analysts at ICICI Bank, in a daily market report according to MarketWatch.
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,247.30 to a high of $1,256.60. They rallied 2.2% last week, closing Friday at their stongest level since July 10.
Meanwhile, silver for March delivery declined 9.1 cents, or 0.6%, to settle at $14.605 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $14.56 and $14.74. They surged 3.4% last week, ending at their highest price since Nov. 2.
In other precious metals prices on Monday:
-
January platinum fell $8.30 to $782.10 an ounce, ranging from $778.60 to $795.70.
- Palladium for March delivery lost $12.10 to $1,158.70 an ounce, trading between $1,157 and $1,180.10.
The pair divided last week with platinum sliding 1.2% and palladium advancing 2.3%.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Friday PM to Monday PM:
- Gold added $2.05, or 2%, to 1,245.35 an ounce.
- Silver gained 4.5 cents, or 0.3%, to $14.53 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 declined 2% while others rose — 2.1% for gold, 1.8% for silver, and 0.2% for palladium.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2018
United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged. 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 / December | November | 2018 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 16,000 | 188,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 4,000 | 32,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 62,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 20,000 | 230,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 5,500 | 120,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 150,000 | 1,645,000 | 15,360,000 |
| Pictured Rocks 5 Oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| Apostle Islands 5 Oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| Voyageurs 5 Oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| Cumberland Island 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 52,500 |
| Block Island 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 80,000 | 80,000 |
