Precious metals kicked off the start to the new trading year on Monday with losses that ranged from 1.3% for platinum to 4.5% for palladium. Gold and silver each ended near a two-week low.
Gold for February delivery lost $28.50, or 1.6%, to settle at $1,800.10 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the weakest since Dec. 21.
"Bearish daily elements that include a solidly higher U.S. dollar index sharply rising U.S. Treasury yields today are negatives for the precious metals. Also, mostly higher stock indexes Monday suggest still-scant trader and investor risk aversion in the marketplace at present — and that’s bearish for the safe-haven metals," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, said in a daily research note.
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,798.20 to a high of $1,833. They rose 0.9% last week to end at their highest price since Nov. 19, but they marked a 3.5% loss in 2021.
Silver for March delivery dropped 54.2 cents, or 2.3%, to close at $22.81 an ounce. The settlement was also the lowest since Dec. 21. Silver futures traded between $22.69 and $23.44. They gained 1.8% last week to score their best finish since Nov. 24, but they plunged 11.6% last year.
In other precious metals futures prices on Monday:
-
April platinum fell $12.20 to $954 an ounce, ranging from $928.70 to $985.
- Palladium for March delivery declined $86.10 to $1,826 an ounce, trading between $1,818 and $1,907.50.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2021
Published United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged on Monday. 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 | 2021 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 135,500 | 125,500 | 41,000 | 1,115,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 7,000 | 6,000 | 1,000 | 95,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 22,000 | 10,000 | 2,000 | 162,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 85,000 | 40,000 | 0 | 490,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 41,000 | 39,500 | 10,500 | 350,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 1,076,000 | 1,523,500 | 0 | 28,275,000 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 75,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1 Oz Palladium Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8,700 | 0 | 8,700 |
| Tuskegee Airmen 5 oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 52,900 |
Sir Kaiser, as per your example above, and underscoring gold’s characteristic as a store of value and wealth preservation, consider that in 1929 a $20 Gold Double Eagle coin (1-oz gold) bought you $20 worth of groceries and in 2021 that same coin/ounce of Gold bought you $1,800 worth of groceries (i.e., the cart of food in 1929 and 2021 remained the same size).
I guess you just can’t win…
Sir Kaiser, thank you very much for caring and sharing your edifying thoughts on where we stand. It’s Sad but true.