Gold, silver and platinum futures declined on Monday while palladium prices edged higher.
Gold for June delivery — the new, most-active contract — shed $10.90, or 0.7%, to settle at $1,643.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"The recessionary fallout of the Covid-19 outbreak on the global economy suggests investors are likely to continue to seek refuge in gold," analysts at BNP Paribas said in a note reported by Reuters. "We expect demand for gold to remain strong, at least until such time that economic conditions stabilize and the outlook begins to improve following the raft of unprecedented stimulus measures put in place by governments and central banks alike."
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,632 to a high of $1,673.60. They jumped 9.5% last week.
Silver for March delivery fell 40.2 cents, or 2.8%, to settle at at $14.132 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $13.94 and $14.71. They rallied last week by 17.4%.
In other precious metals futures Monday:
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July platinum declined $17.80, or 2.4%, to $723.80 an ounce, ranging from $710.90 to $745.10.
- Palladium for June delivery inched up 80 cents, or 0.04%, to $2,197.60 an ounce, trading between $2,105.30 and $2,224.
Last week, platinum gained 18.9% and palladium soared 42.6%.
London Precious Metals Prices (LBMA)
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Friday PM to Monday PM:
- Gold rose $1, or 0.06%, to $1,618.30 an ounce.
- Silver fell 26 cents, or 1.8%, to $14.055 an ounce.
In LBMA results last week, metal prices increased by 8.2% for gold, 13.3% for silver, 20.8% for platinum, and 37.8% for palladium.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2020
United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged Monday following solid gains last week. 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 | Last Week | January | February | March | 2020 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 50,000 | 38,000 | 3,500 | 123,500 | 165,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 5,000 | 23,000 | 2,000 | 8,000 | 33,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 14,000 | 18,000 | 2,000 | 20,000 | 40,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 25,000 | 60,000 | 20,000 | 95,000 | 175,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 21,000 | 1,000 | 47,500 | 69,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 1,650,000 | 3,846,000 | 650,000 | 4,832,500 | 9,328,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 14,500 | 9,300 | 6,200 | 30,000 |
