Precious metals ended lower on Monday, posting losses that ranged from 1% for gold to 2.8% for palladium. Gold ended at a more than one-week low after finishing Friday at a more than six-week high.
Gold for December delivery fell $17.40 to settle at $1,798.10 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The close was the lowest since Aug. 5.
"Gold and silver prices are solidly lower in midday U.S. trading Monday, on demand concerns for the metals after a batch of weak economic data from China. Sharply lower crude oil prices and a stronger U.S. dollar index to start the trading week are also bearish daily forces working against the metals," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, said in a daily research note.
Gold futures traded between $1,787.60 and $1,818.90. They advanced 1.9% last week, for their fourth straight weekly gain, ending Friday at their highest level since June 29.
Silver for September delivery dropped 42.6 cents, or 2.1%, to end at $20.272 an ounce. Like for gold, the close was silver’s weakest since Aug. 5. Silver futures ranged from $20.02 to $20.87. They rose 2.5% last week.
In other precious metals futures prices on Monday:
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Retreating from its best close since June 11, October platinum declined 25.80, or 2.7%, to $933.60 an ounce, trading between $919.50 and $966.
- Palladium for September delivery lost $61.10 to settle at $2,158.30 an ounce, ranging from $2,129.50 and $2,234.50.
Last week, platinum jumped 7.8% and palladium soared 4.2%.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2022
Published United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged for a fifth straight business day. The last published gains happened a week ago Monday, Aug. 8.
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 | May | June | July | Last Week / August | 2022 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 164,500 | 31,000 | 59,500 | 21,000 | 706,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 7,000 | 6,000 | 5,000 | 1,000 | 72,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 8,000 | 18,000 | 2,000 | 2,000 | 132,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 50,000 | 135,000 | 20,000 | 15,000 | 540,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 56,000 | 21,500 | 39,500 | 6,500 | 305,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 1,350,000 | 925,000 | 850,000 | 408,000 | 11,964,500 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 23,500 | 15,500 | 1,000 | 80,000 |
But gas is down which will see lower prices in the coming weeks. Have you seen the errors people are coming up with? Some real winners out there. Need to keep a sharp eye out.
United States Mint Director Ventris C. Gibson will participate in the official ribbon-cutting ceremony for the American Numismatic Association’s (ANA) World’s Fair of Money. The ribbon cutting will occur on Tuesday, August 16, at 12:30 p.m. (EST), and attendees will have an opportunity to meet with Director Gibson while visiting the Mint booth at Hall F – Booth 1925. The Fair runs from August 16–20, 2022 in Chicago.
Along with some numismatic questions I have for Ventris, I also have some HR questions/tips for us working stiffs.