Gold, platinum and palladium declined in their start Monday to the holiday-shortened trading week. Silver, meanwhile, advanced 1.3% to score its best finish in more than three months.
Gold for February delivery gave back $6.10, or 0.3%, to settle at $1,882.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Gold has appreciated almost 7% this month and could extend gains if bulls are able to maintain control above $1900. But this level could prove to be reliable resistance, which means a decline back towards $1850 would be on the cards," MarketWatch quoted Lukman Otunuga, senior research analyst at FXTM.
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,859 to a high of $1,912. They advanced 2.5% last week, for their third straight weekly increase.
Silver for March delivery tacked on 34.6 cents to settle at $26.379 an ounce. The settlement was silver’s highest since Sept. 18. Silver futures traded between $25.12 and $27.64. They rallied 8.1% last week.
In other precious metals futures prices on Monday:
-
January platinum declined $27, or 2.6%, to $1,016.10 an ounce, ranging from $926.40 to $1,060.70.
- Palladium for March delivery dropped $55.60, or 2.3%, to $2,316.40 an ounce, trading between $2,297 and $2,404.50.
Last week platinum rose 2.1% and palladium gained 1.7%.
London Precious Metals Prices (LBMA)
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Friday PM to Monday PM:
- Gold edged up 25 cents, or 0.01%, to $1,880 an ounce.
- Silver added 34 cents, or 1.3%, to $26.155 an ounce.
In LBMA results last week, palladium dipped 0.04% while price rose 2.1% for gold, 8.4% for silver, and 2.9% for platinum.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2020
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 | October | November | December | 2020 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 12,000 | 64,500 | 77,000 | 42,500 | 741,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 6,000 | 4,000 | 0 | 68,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 8,000 | 10,000 | 0 | 106,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 25,000 | 35,000 | 0 | 350,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 1,500 | 19,500 | 23,500 | 8,500 | 240,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 3,397,000 | 4,805,000 | 751,000 | 30,089,500 |
| America Samoa 5 oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45,000 |
| Weir Farm 5 oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45,000 |
| Salt River Bay 5 oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45,000 |
| Marsh Billings 5 oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45,000 |
| Tallgrass Prairie 5 oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 56,500 |
