Silver Scores Nearly 2-Year High As Gold Dips From 6-Year High

Most precious metals futures advanced Monday, led by silver which closed at a nearly two-year high. Gold, meanwhile, eased gently from a more than six-year high.

Gold for December delivery dipped 40 cents, or 0.03%, to settle at $1,537.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

"There’s a great deal of uncertainty and instability in the global financial markets and economies. And in that kind of environment, investors are bouncing around so they are buying in to gold and buying out of gold," Reuters quoted Jeffrey Christian, managing partner of CPM Group.

Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,534.80 to a high of $1,565. They rose 0.9% last week, for their fourth straight weekly increase, ending Friday at their highest level since April 11, 2013.

Silver for September delivery tacked on 22.8 cents, or 1.3%, to close at $17.641 an ounce. The settlement was the strongest since Sept. 15, 2017, when the precious metal finished at $17.701 an ounce. Silver futures ranged from a low of $17.49 to a high of $17.76. They advanced 1.7% last week.

In other precious metals futures prices Monday:

October platinum added $2.50, or 0.3%, to $857.80 an ounce , trading between $855.50 and $869.30.

Palladium for September climbed $18, or 1.2%, to $1,472.30 an ounce, ranging from $1,447 to $1,473.20.

Last week, platinum rose 0.5% and palladium gained 0.9%.

London Precious Metals Prices

London market closed Monday for Summer Bank Holiday. In LBMA prices on Friday:

Gold rose 95 cents, or 0.06%, to $1,503 an ounce.

Silver added 9 cents, or 0.5%, to $17.05 an ounce.

Platinum fell $4, or 0.5%, to $851 an ounce.

Palladium lost $31, or 2.1%, to $1,460 an ounce.

In their results for last week, gold declined 0.8%, silver fell 0.6%, platinum rose 2.2% and palladium added 0.1%.

US Mint 2019 Bullion Sales

United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged. Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of coins sold during varying periods. Products with an asterisk (*) are no longer available.

US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) Monday Last Week July August 2019 Sales $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin 0 2,500 2,500 5,000 86,000 $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin 0 0 3,000 1,000 23,000 $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin 0 0 2,000 0 28,000 $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin 0 0 15,000 0 160,000 $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin 0 0 500 1,000 49,000 $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin 0 647,000 1,240,000 869,000 12,131,000 War in the Pacific 5 Oz Silver Coin 0 4,500 57,000 12,500 69,500 American Memorial Park 5 Oz Silver Coin* 0 2,000 0 2,000 80,000 Lowell 5 Oz Silver Coin* N/A 80,000 $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin* N/A 40,000