Gold edged higher Tuesday for the first time in three sessions as support came from a weaker greenback and rising oil prices.
"The dollar’s weakness is supporting all commodities, including gold," Sterling Smith, a market analyst at Country Hedging in St. Paul, Minnesota, said in a telephone interview that was relayed on Bloomberg.
Gold prices for June delivery rose $1.40, or 0.1%, to $1,651.10 an ounce on the Comex in New York. Prices ranged from an intraday low of $1,635.20 to a high of $1,658.40.
"We expect that if European credit conditions continue to deteriorate, gold (along with the dollar) could start to better reflect the growing tensions by moving higher," said Edward Meir, metals analyst at INTL FCStone, according to Reuters.
Silver prices for May delivery added 30.1 cents, or 1.0%, to $31.674 an ounce, trading between $31.305 and $31.910.
Platinum prices for July delivery advanced $8.90, or 0.6%, to $1,584.70 an ounce, ranging from $1,565.60 to $1,587.10.
Palladium prices for June delivery rallied $11.25, or 1.7%, to $661.95 an ounce, trading between $644.80 and $663.75.
London Precious Metal
London precious metals climbed with the exception of gold. In comparing the most recent London PM fixings:
- Gold declined $17.50, or 1.1%, to $1,635.50 an ounce,
- Silver prices added 32.0 cents, or 1.0%, to $31.64 an ounce,
- Platinum gained $4.00, or 0.3%, to $1,574.00 an ounce, and
- Palladium advanced $8.00, or 1.2%, to $653.00 an ounce
U.S. Mint Bullion Coins – Silver Eagle Sales Pass 11 Million
Sales of U.S. Mint bullion coins were unchanged Tuesday as of 4:08 PM ET. The following are the available daily, April and year-to-date bullion coin sales 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 | 12,000 | 174,000 |
| 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.) | 0 | 7,000 | 53,500 |
| American Silver Eagle | 0 | 880,000 | 11,019,000 |
| Sales of America the Beautiful 5 Oz. Silver Bullion Coins | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Prior Weekly | Weekly Gains | All-Time Total | |
| Olympic National Park 5 oz. Silver Coins | 0 | 0 | 85,100 |
| Vicksburg National Military Park 5 oz. Silver Coins | 0 | 0 | 38,300 |
| Chickasaw Park 5 oz. Silver Coins | 0 | 200 | 28,900 |
| TOTAL | 0 | 200 | 152,300 |
All bullion coin sales in the above tables are in number of coins, not in the amount of ounces sold. The U.S. Mint last updated five ounce bullion silver coins sold on Monday, April 9.
