Gold Posts Fourth Monthly Gain; U.S. Mint Bullion Sales Mixed in August

Precious metals futures mostly rose on Friday and for the week, and they all scored sharp increases in August with gains ranging from 1% to almost 12%.

Gold for December delivery declined $7.50, or 0.5%, to settle at $1,529.40 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

"The precious metals remain in a bullish uptrend, though it would not surprise us to see prices pull-back/consolidate after such a strong month, regardless what happens with stocks and China trade deal status," Adam Taggart, co-founder of PeakProsperity.com, told MarketWatch.

Gold futures shed 0.5% this week — their first weekly loss in five weeks, trimming their increase in August to 6.4%. The monthly advance was their fourth in a row. On Tuesday, they closed at $1,551.80 an ounce for their highest settlement since April 11, 2013. The yellow metal is 19.4% higher on the year to date.

In looking ahead to next week, Kitco News offers the following forecasts via their Wall Street & Main Street surveys:

"This week, 15 market professionals took part in the Wall Street survey. In a statistical tie, a total of 6 voters, or 40%, called for gold to be both higher and lower next week. The results showed that 3 participants, or 19%, anticipated neutral price action in the near-term.

Meanwhile, 1,203 respondents took part in an online Main Street poll. A total of 762 voters, or 63%, called for gold to rise. Another 258, or 21%, predicted gold would fall. The remaining 183 voters, or 15%, saw a sideways market."

Elsewhere, silver for December delivery rose 1.9 cents, or 0.1%, to finish at $18.342 an ounce.

Silver futures soared 5.3% this week — their fourth straight weekly win, lifting their August increase to 11.8%. The precious metal’s monthly gain was its third in a row following four consecutive monthly declines. On Wednesday, silver closed at $18.456 an ounce for its best settlement since April 17, 2017. Prices are 18% higher on the year.

In PGM futures on Friday, for the week and for the month:

• October platinum added $11.70, or 1.3%, to $931.70 an ounce, for gains of 8.9% on the week and 6% in August.

• Palladium for December delivery rallied $67.70, or 4.6%, to $1,539.20 an ounce, for increases of 5.8% on the week and 1% on the month.

Both are sharply higher on the year so far with advances of 16.4% for platinum and 28.6% for palladium.

London Precious Metals Prices

London precious metals prices were mixed on Friday and gained on the week and month. In comparing their latest day-over-day PM prices:

• Gold declined $11.80, or 0.8%, to $1,528.40 an ounce.
• Silver lost 9.5 cents, or 0.5%, to $18.385 an ounce.
• Platinum added $16, or 1.7%, to $939 an ounce.

In LBMA weekly results, increases reached 1.7% for gold, 7.8% for silver, and 10.3% for platinum. For the month, gains totaled 7.1% for gold, 11.6% for silver, and 7.6% for platinum.

US Mint 2019 Bullion Sales

United States Mint American Eagle bullion coins realized split results in August from July, with gold sales higher and silver sales lower. In headline comparisons:

• American Eagle gold coins combined to 6,000 ounces in August, rising 20% from the 5,000 ounces sold in July but dropping 72.1% from the 21,500 ounces sold in August of last year. 2019 American Gold Eagle sales at 121,000 ounces are 31.6% lower than the 177,000 ounces delivered during the first eight months of 2018.

• American Eagle silver coins moved up by 1,007,000 ounces, registering declines of 17.7% from July’s 1,224,000 ounces and 34.2% from August 2018 sales 1,530,000 ounces. 2019 American Silver Eagle sales at 12,269,000 ounces are 32.8% higher than the 9,237,500 ounces sold through the same period last year.

• American Buffalo gold coins rose by 1,500 ounces, posting divided results with an increase of 200% from the 500 ounces sold in July and a decline of 92.5% from sales of 20,000 ounces in August 2018. Year-to-date sales at 49,500 ounces are 49% lower than the 97,000 ounces sold during the first eight months of 2018.

• The final allotment of 2019 American Platinum Eagles sold in April with their total for the year ending at 40,000 coins. Last year’s edition topped out at 30,000 coins.

• America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Bullion Coins climbed by a combined 14,500 units with sales from the most two recent releases. Three of the five 2019-dated coins have now been issued and they have combined sales of 229,500 units or 1,147,500 ounces. Last year’s first three 5-ounce bullion coins registered combined sales through August of 90,000 units or 450,000 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.