Prices of precious metals advanced on Monday, adding to robust monthly gains, which ranged from slightly over 4% on the lower end to 8.5% on the higher end.
Gold for December delivery — the new, most-active contract — rose by $9.30, or 0.5%, ending at $2,009.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the highest since May 15.
"Amid a lack of fresh fundamental news to drive market prices, the precious metals traders are focusing on the improved near-term chart postures in gold and silver and doing some technically based buying," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, said in a daily research note.
Gold prices registered a 4.1% increase in July, rebounding from a 2.7% drop in June, and are now 10% higher year-to-date.
"Gold’s buoyancy is based on the expectation that central banks around the world are coming to the end of their cycle of interest-rate increases," MarketWatch quoted Rupert Rowling, market analyst at Kinesis Money.
Meanwhile, silver for September moved ahead by 47.7 cents, or 2%, to finish at $24.972 an ounce, boosting its monthly and year-to-date gains to 8.5% and 3.9%, respectively. The settlement was silver’s highest since July 19.
In other precious metals, both on Monday and for the month:
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October platinum rose by $14.90, or 1.6%, to end at $958.60 an ounce, bringing its July gain to 5%.
- Palladium for September delivery tacked on $36, or 2.9%, to end at $1,275.60 an ounce, for a 4.4% monthly increase.
Reviewing their performance since the beginning of the year, platinum has dropped by 11.5%, and palladium has declined by 29.1%.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2023
On Monday, July 24, the U.S. Mint reported bullion sales gains, marking only the second occurrence this month. However, since then, there have been no additional reports of bullion sales.
The table below presents a breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products sold, with columns indicating the number of coins sold (not total ounces) during different time periods.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Last Week | May | June | July | 2023 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 24,000 | 60,500 | 35,000 | 36,000 | 661,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 18,000 | 1,000 | 0 | 73,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 32,000 | 4,000 | 0 | 132,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 80,000 | 60,000 | 0 | 385,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 11,000 | 47,000 | 17,000 | 13,500 | 290,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 790,000 | 1,593,000 | 1,482,000 | 1,240,000 | 10,928,000 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 1,200 | 3,500 | 0 | 12,700 |
