Gold closed a bit down in normal trading hours Tuesday but then tumbled in electronic trading after minutes from the Fed’s latest policy meeting revealed that policy makers were less keen on another round of quantitative easing.
"The Fed has distanced itself from QE3. It’s in line with what Bernanke said in February, but nonetheless it’s enough to reduce the near-term bullish momentum," Reuters quoted James Steele, chief commodity analyst at HSBC.
Spot gold was last quoted down $32.30 to $1,644.70 while silver had dropped 37.0 cents to $32.62 an ounce. Losses in PGM metals were modest with platinum off $7.00 to $1,640.00 and palladium last quoted down $4.00 to $652.00.
In normal trading hours:
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Gold prices for June delivery settled down $7.70, or 0.5%, to $1,672.00 an ounce on the Comex in New York. Prices traded between an intraday low of $1,653.50 and a high of $1,682.70.
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Silver prices for May delivery closed to $33.265 an ounce, advancing 16.7 cents or 0.5%. Silver reached a low and high of $32.635 and $33.295.
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Platinum prices for July delivery ended up $5.60, or 0.3%, to $1,660.50 an ounce, trading between $1,646.30 and $1,671.00.
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Palladium prices for June delivery added 80.0 cents, or 0.1%, to $659.60 an ounce, ranging from $651.50 to $664.20.
London Precious Metals
London precious metals were mixed Tuesday with all but gold making an advance. When comparing the most recent London PM fixings:
- Gold declined $1.25, or 0.1%, to $1,676.25 an ounce,
- Silver was up 55.0 cents, or 1.7%, to $32.97 an ounce,
- Platinum gained $18.00, or 1.1%, to $1,659.00 an ounce, and
- Palladium rose $4.00, or 0.6%, to $660.00 an ounce
U.S. Mint Bullion Coins
Bullion coin gains on Tuesday were limited to two U.S. Mint products. The American Gold Buffalo added 2,000 and the American Silver Eagle added 125,000.
The following are the most recent daily, April and year-to-date bullion coin totals as provided by the U.S. Mint.
| Sales of U.S. Mint American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Coins | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Gains | April Gains | YTD 2012 | |
| American Gold Eagles (1 oz.) | 0 | 3,500 | 165,500 |
| American Gold Eagles (1/2 oz.) | 0 | 0 | 51,000 |
| American Gold Eagles (1/4 oz.) | 0 | 0 | 40,000 |
| American Gold Eagles (1/10 oz.) | 0 | 5,000 | 135,000 |
| American Gold Buffalo Coin (1 oz.) | 2,000 | 3,000 | 49,500 |
| American Silver Eagles | 125,000 | 320,000 | 10,459,000 |
| Sales of America the Beautiful 5 Oz. Bullion Silver Coins | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Prior Weekly | Weekly Gains | All-Time Total | |
| Olympic National Park 5 oz. Silver Coins | 200 | 0 | 85,100 |
| Vicksburg National Military Park 5 oz. Silver Coins | 200 | 0 | 38,300 |
| Chickasaw Park 5 oz. Silver Coins | 0 | 0 | 28,700 |
| TOTAL | 400 | 0 | 152,100 |
All bullion sales in the above tables are in number of coins sold, not in the amount of ounces sold. The U.S. Mint has not sold five ounce bullion silver coins since Monday, March 26.
The paper market does not accurately reflect the physical market. And it’s more true in silver than gold. When the concentrated short positions blow up in the face of JPM I will hoot and holler. And I’ll send Nadler a video. Maybe he’s one of the shorts. He writes like he is.