Silver, platinum and palladium futures declined Monday while gold moved ahead for a third straight session, ended above the key $1,300 an ounce level, and marked an almost five-week high.
Gold for June delivery tacked on $14.40, or 1.1%, to settle at $1,301.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the highest since April 10.
"We are seeing safe-haven buying right now with the breakdown in trade talks and China talking about retaliating," Reuters quoted Phillip Streible, senior commodities strategist at RJO Futures.
"Geopolitical risks are rising, trade tensions escalating, the dollar is down and equities are really under pressure – all these factors are boosting gold prices right now."
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,282.40 to a high of $1,302.20. They rose 0.5% last week.
Silver for July delivery shed 1.3 cents, or less than 0.1%, to settle at $14.777 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $14.61 and $14.82. They fell last week by 1.3%.
In other precious metals prices Monday:
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July platinum lost $10.70, or 1.2%, to $854.90 an ounce, ranging from $851.40 to $867.70.
- Palladium for June delivery sank $33.90, or 2.5%, to $1,316.80 an ounce, trading between $1,310.80 and $1,346.50.
Both metals declined last week, registering losses of 1.1% for platinum and 0.5% for palladium.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Friday PM to Monday PM:
- Gold added $8.50, or 0.7%, to $1,295.60 an ounce.
- Silver declined 13.5 cent, or 0.9%, to $14.66 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
In LBMA results last week, palladium declined 3.5% while the others logged gains of 0.7% for gold, 1% for silver, and 0.2% for platinum.
US Mint 2019 Bullion Sales
On Monday, U.S. Mint American Gold Eagles logged their first gains of the month. The 1-ounce Gold Eagle moved up by 500 ounces.
Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint 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 | March | April | May | 2019 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin* | N/A | 4,000 | 6,500 | N/A | 40,000 | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 500 | 0 | 8,500 | 6,500 | 500 | 71,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 0 | 19,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 4,000 | 2,000 | 0 | 26,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 15,000 | 10,000 | 0 | 145,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 5,500 | 6,500 | 0 | 41,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 92,000 | 850,000 | 1,196,000 | 160,000 | 8,281,000 |
| Lowell 5 Oz Silver Coin* | N/A | 80,000 | N/A | 80,000 | ||
