In kicking off the new trading week on Monday, platinum rose slightly, palladium tumbled, and gold and silver declined more modestly.
Ending lower for a a fifth straight session, gold for December lost $14.80, or 0.8%. to settle at $1,739.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was gold’s weakest since Nov. 9.
"The metals [gold and silver] are feeling the heat of strong gains in the U.S. dollar index to start the trading week and a big drop in crude oil prices," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, said in a daily research note.
Gold futures traded between $1,733.90 and $1,755. They slipped 0.9% last week. Last Monday at $1,776.90 an ounce, gold marked its best finish since Aug. 16.
Silver for December delivery gave back 12.5 cents, or 0.6%, to close at $20.872 an ounce. The settlement was silver’s lowest since Nov. 4.
Silver futures ranged from $20.60 to $21.04. They declined 3.1% last week. Last Monday at $22.113 an ounce, the precious metal posted its highest finish since June 2.
In other precious metals prices on Monday:
-
January platinum rose $3.60, or 0.4%, to $987.90 an ounce, trading between $970.70 and $995.30.
- Palladium for December delivery sunk $85.90, or 4.4%, to $1,853 an ounce, ranging from $1,826.50 to $1,946.
Last week, platinum dropped 5.2% and palladium fell 4.3%.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2022
On Monday, published United States Mint bullion sales changed for the first time this month. Advances included 6,000 ounces in American Gold Eagles; 1,407,000 ounces in American Silver Eagles; and 4,500 ounces in American Gold Buffalos.
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 / November | June | July | August | September | October | 2022 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 6,000 | 31,000 | 59,500 | 47,500 | 47,500 | 59,500 | 846,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 6,000 | 5,000 | 2,000 | 0 | 2,000 | 75,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 18,000 | 2,000 | 4,000 | 4,000 | 2,000 | 140,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 135,000 | 20,000 | 20,000 | 15,000 | 15,000 | 575,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 4,500 | 21,500 | 39,500 | 22,500 | 44,500 | 39,500 | 410,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 1,407,000 | 925,000 | 850,000 | 850,000 | 833,000 | 1,258,000 | 15,904,500 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 23,500 | 15,500 | 1,000 | 0 | 0 | 80,000 |
We should be thankful, gold edged up fifty cents and silver one cent. What heady times we live in!