Precious Metals Edge Lower on Monday, Aug. 29

Precious metals changed little on Monday, although all of them declined. Their losses ranged from less than 0.1% for gold to 0.8% for silver.

Down for a second straight session after rising for three in a row, gold for December delivery eased 10 cents, or 0.01%, to settle at $1,749.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The finish was the lowest since last Monday.

"Equities and metals are suffering from Powell’s unvarnished reminder that rates will need to be high for longer and that perhaps 75 bps is the default for September unless the totality of the data suggests otherwise," Reuters quoted Tai Wong, a senior trader at Heraeus Precious Metals in New York.

Gold futures traded between $1,731.40 and $1,757.90. They inched 0.7% lower last week.

Silver for December delivery — the new, most-active contract — declined 15.5 cents, or 0.8%, to close at $18.67 an ounce. The settlement was the lowest since July 27. Silver futures ranged from $18.40 to $18.83. They gave back 1.7% last week.

In other precious metals futures prices on Monday:

• October platinum shed $1, or 0.1%, to $854.30 an ounce, trading between $835.30 and $861.70. The close was the weakest since July 20.

• Palladium for December delivery — the new, most-active contract — lost $2.40, or 0.1%, to $2,130.30 an ounce, ranging from $2,096 to $2,165.

Last week, platinum fell 3.7% and palladium dipped 0.5%.

US Mint Bullion Sales in 2022

Published United States Mint bullion sales showed gains for the first time in over a week. Increases included 16,500 ounces in American Gold Eagles; 6,500 ounces in American Gold Buffalos; and 425,000 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.