Precious metals futures dropped Monday, registering losses that ranged from 0.9% for gold to 2.9% for platinum. Gold’s decline was its sixth in a row and its close was the weakest in nearly six weeks.
Gold for April delivery fell $11.70 to settle at $1,287.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the lowest since Jan. 24.
"Seasonal factors [are] not in gold’s favor at moment, but will shift as we go through March," MarketWatch quoted Peter Spina, president and chief executive officer of GoldSeek.com. "So looking for a couple of weeks of weakness, consolidation until the market can regain its bullish momentum. That said, conditions are getting very oversold here and can stage a large upside move."
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,283.80 to a high of $1,298.10. They dropped 2.5% last week.
Meanwhile, silver for May delivery lost 15.1 cents, or 1%, to close at $15.105 an ounce. The settlement was the lowest since Dec. 24. Silver futures traded between $15.07 and $15.30. They tumbled 4.1% last week.
In other precious metals futures prices on Monday:
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April platinum declined $24.80, or 2.9%, to settle at $838.90 an ounce, ranging from $837.20 to $866.10.
- Palladium for June delivery fell $21, or 1.4%, to settle at $1,485.10 an ounce, trading between $1,469.90 and $1,516.80. Last Tuesday, the precious metal marked a record settlement of $1,519.70 an ounce.
Both metals scored gains last week with platinum rising 2.1% and palladium rising 3%.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Friday PM to Monday PM
- Gold fell $26.55, or 2%, to $1,285.40 an ounce.
- Silver fell 40 cents, or 2.6%, to $15.16 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
In LBMA results last week, gold and silver logged losses of 1.3% and 2% while platinum and palladium registered increases of 4% and 4.8%.
US Mint 2019 Bullion Sales
United States Mint bullion sales rose for the first time this month. Gains included 1,500 ounces in American Gold Eagles and 500 ounces in American Gold Buffalos.
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 / March | Last Week | January | February | 2019 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 600 | 27,100 | 2,400 | 29,500 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 1,500 | 1,500 | 44,500 | 11,000 | 57,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 15,000 | 1,000 | 16,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 20,000 | 0 | 20,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 85,000 | 10,000 | 100,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 500 | 500 | 23,500 | 6,000 | 30,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 100,000 | 4,017,500 | 2,157,500 | 6,175,000 |
