In futures trading Monday, palladium registered another record while gold, silver and platinum ended lower.
Gold for February delivery lost $9.50, or 0.6%, to settle at $1,550.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the lowest since Jan. 2.
"Upbeat trader and investor attitudes are working against the precious metals markets to start the trading week. U.S. stock indexes are at or near record highs today, amid low risk aversion in the world marketplace at present," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a daily research note.
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,547 to a high of $1,563.10. They gained 0.5% last week, for their third weekly win in a row. Last Tuesday, Jan. 7, they ended at $1,574.30 an ounce for their highest settlement since April. 9, 2013.
Silver for March delivery shed 10.9 cents, or 0.6%, to settle at $17.996 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $17.93 and $18.13.
They dipped 0.3% last week after four straight weekly increases that had raised prices by a combined 9.4%. Last Tuesday, they finished at $18.393 an ounce for their best close since Sept. 24.
In other precious metals prices on Monday:
-
April platinum settled down $3.90, or 0.4%, to $982.10 an ounce, ranging between $969.10 and $984.60.
- Palladium for March delivery rose $6.20, or 0.3%, to fresh a record settlement of $2,079.10 an ounce. Palladium traded between $2,063.30 and $2,098.50.
Last week, platinum declined 0.4% while palladium soared 6%.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Friday PM to Monday PM:
- Gold declined $3.70, or 0.2%, to $1,549.90 an ounce.
- Silver rose 7 cents, or 0.4%, to $17.985 an ounce.
In LBMA results last week, gold rose 0.3%, silver declined 1.6%, platinum fell 1.4% and palladium surged 6.7%.
US Mint 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 | November | December | 2019 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 8,000 | 2,000 | 108,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin* | 0 | 0 | 5,000 | 0 | 30,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 38,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 195,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 5,000 | 1,500 | 61,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 463,000 | 0 | 14,863,500 |
| Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 20,000 | 5,000 | 25,000 |
| San Antonio Missions 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 55,200 |
| War in the Pacific 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 72,500 |
| American Memorial Park 5 Oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 80,000 |
| Lowell 5 Oz Silver Coin* | N/A | 80,000 | |||
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin* | N/A | 40,000 | |||
