Silver and palladium marked solid gains Monday while gold and platinum were nearly unchanged. Silver has been a standout metal of late, ending Monday at a 13-month high.
Gold for August delivery inched up 20 cents, or 0.01%, to settle at $1,426.90 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,423 to a high of $1,430.80. They gained 1% last week. On Thursday, they ended at $1,428.10 an ounce for their highest close since May 13, 2013.
"The wind is now at our backs and we believe that both gold and silver will climb higher," Maria Smirnova, senior portfolio manager at Sprott Asset Management, wrote in a recent report according to MarketWatch. "Silver, in particular, has the potential to outperform gold significantly," she said.
Registering its sixth increase in seven sessions, silver for September delivery tacked on 21.6 cents, or 1.3% to settle at $16.411 an ounce. The settlement was the highest since June 22, 2018 when prices finished at $16.459 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $16.19 and $16.46. They rallied 6.3% last week.
In other precious metals futures prices Monday:
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October platinum added 60 cents, or 0.07%, to $852.70 an ounce, ranging from $848.30 to $857.
- Palladium for September delivery settled up $20.90, or 1.4%, to $1,529.20 an ounce, trading between $1,495.30 and $1,531.20.
Last week, platinum advanced 2.1% and palladium declined 2.2%.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Friday PM to Monday PM:
- Gold declined $11.95, or 0.8%, to $1,427.75 an ounce.
- Silver rose 7 cents, or 0.4%, to $16.385 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
In LBMA results last week, platinum fell 2.3% while the others logged increases of 2.3% for gold, 7.8% for silver, and 4.4% for platinum.
US Mint 2019 Bullion Sales
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. Products with an asterisk (*) are no longer available.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Last Week | June | July | 2019 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 500 | 4,500 | 500 | 79,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 1,000 | 0 | 2,000 | 21,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 28,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 5,000 | 5,000 | 10,000 | 155,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 500 | 3,000 | 500 | 48,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 75,000 | 1,035,000 | 337,000 | 10,359,000 |
| American Memorial Park 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 78,000 |
| Lowell 5 Oz Silver Coin* | N/A | 80,000 | |||
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin* | N/A | 40,000 | |||
