Sunnyvale (CA) - With the closing of Yahoo Photos still in fresh memory, Yahoo has announced it will shut down its online auction service in the U.S. next month.

When Yahoo Auctions launched in 1998, eBay already had a three year head start and never suffered any real competition from Yahoo. In the early 2000s, Yahoo gained some momentum from anti-eBay activists and became attractive with its lower commission rates. The advent of other sites like Craigslist, though, offered more popular eBay alternatives.

Yahoo will officially retire its auction block in North America on June 16. In a few other countries, including Hong Kong and Singapore, the service will continue to operate.

Yahoo has been suffering for the better part of the past few years. Just last week the site announced the closure of Yahoo Photos to focus more on its companion site Flickr.

"Yahoo is continuing to align our resources to focus on core strategic priorities and deliver a superior user experience, and as part of this effort, we are re-prioritizing some products," said the site in a statement.

Hitwise reported Yahoo Auctions as gaining about 0.2% of the online auction market share last week.