Prices for precious metals diverged on Monday, with gold and silver falling modestly — following sharp gains last week, and platinum and palladium rising.
Gold for December delivery gave back $7.20, or 0.4%, to settle at $1,934.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Gold and silver prices are a bit weaker in midday U.S. trading Monday, on normal downside corrections and profit taking from the shorter-term futures traders following last week’s solid gains. Rising U.S. Treasury yields to start the trading week were also a bearish daily outside market element for the precious metals markets," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, said in a daily research note.
Gold futures traded between $1,921.20 and $1,943. They jumped by 5.2% last week, ending Friday at their highest price since Sept. 22.
Meanwhile, silver for December delivery shed 13 cents, or 0.6%, settling at $22.765 an ounce. Silver futures ranged from $22.63 to $22.91. They soared by 5.4% last week, closing Friday at their best price since Sept. 26.
In other precious metals prices on Monday:
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January platinum advanced by $15.20, or 1.7%, to $899.40 an ounce, trading between $879.10 and $900.60.
- Palladium for December delivery added $1.60, or 0.1%, to $1,146.80 an ounce, ranging from $1,130 to $1,160.
Last week, platinum edged 0.3% higher, while palladium dropped by 1.5%.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2023
U.S. Mint bullion sales last changed on Wednesday, with gains reported for American Gold Eagles, American Silver Eagles, and American Gold Buffalos.
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 | August | September | October | 2023 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 21,000 | 78,000 | 27,500 | 61,500 | 833,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 13,000 | 2,000 | 90,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 6,000 | 2,000 | 30,000 | 12,000 | 176,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 5,000 | 150,000 | 40,000 | 15,000 | 590,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 8,000 | 19,500 | 18,500 | 21,500 | 352,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 751,000 | 3,124,000 | 2,970,000 | 1,536,000 | 19,445,000 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12,700 |
