Gold eased lower in its start to the new trading week on Monday, while silver, platinum and palladium gained.
Gold for August delivery shed $4.70, or 0.3%, to settle at $1,805.90 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"The key outside markets are in a slightly bearish daily posture for the precious metals today — a firmer U.S. dollar index and weaker crude oil prices. It’s a quieter news day to start the trading week, which has traders focusing more on the outside markets for direction while they await new fundamental developments," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, said in a daily research note.
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,791 to a high of $1,811. They rose 1.5% last week, for their third straight weekly gain, and ended Friday at their best price since June 16.
Silver for September delivery edged up a half cent, or 0.02%, to close at $26.239 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $25.93 and $26.38. They declined 1% last week.
In other precious metals prices Monday:
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October platinum advanced $27.30, or 2.5%, to $1,123 an ounce, ranging from $1,085.30 to $1,123.80.
- Palladium for September delivery rose $47.30, or 1.7%, to settle at $2,859.30 an ounce, trading between $2,791 and $2,686.
Last week platinum and palladium each gained 0.7%.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2021
The United States Mint published bullion sales gains on Monday that totaled 11,000 ounces in American Gold Eagles and 513,000 ounces in American Silver Eagles.
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 | March Sales | April Sales | May | June | July | 2021 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 11,000 | 26,000 | 55,500 | 38,500 | 20,500 | 158,000* | 37,000 | 621,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15,000* | 0 | 46,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 20,000 | 0 | 0 | 30,000* | 0 | 86,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 55,000 | 0 | 0 | 90,000* | 0 | 240,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 10,500 | 33,500 | 11,000 | 44,000 | 27,500 | 10,500 | 204,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 513,000 | 849,000 | 4,087,000 | 1,053,000 | 0 | 2,800,000* | 1,362,000 | 17,268,500 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 35,000 | 0 | 40,000 | 0 | 0 | 75,000 |
| Tuskegee Airmen 5 oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | N/A | 50,000 | 2,900 | 0 | 0 | 52,900 |
*The U.S. Mint on Wednesday, July 7, adjusted June sales of American Gold Eagles with 1oz coins to 158,000 from 4,000; 1/2oz coins to 15,000 from 0; 1/4oz coins to 30,000 from 0 and 1/10oz coins to 90,000 from 0. The agency also lifted June sales of American Silver Eagles to 2.8 million from 0.
