Gold, silver and other precious metals declined Tuesday, marking a second straight day of losses.
Gold for December delivery tumbled $40.90, or 3.1%, to finish at $1,286.10 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement price is the lowest since August 7.
Gold traded from a low $1,282.40 to a high of $1,337.80. A lack of safe-haven demand despite the current impasse in Washington has pressured demand, opined analysts.
"While the standoff is not a great thing, the effects seem to be limited, and we are not seeing investors rush to gold for its safe-haven quality," Frank Lesh, a trader at FuturePath Trading in Chicago, said in a telephone interview according to Bloomberg. "Riskier assets like equities seem to be in favor."
Gold on Monday shed 0.9%, ending 5% lower for September yet advancing 8.4% for the quarter — its first quarterly gain in a year.
Silver for December delivery fell 53.3 cents, or 2.5%, to $21.18 an ounce, ranging from $20.63 to $21.97. Silver dropped 0.6% on Monday for a September decline of 7.7%. Prices surged 11.5% for the quarter, outperforming the other precious metals. It was also the silver’s first quarterly increase in a year.
In PGM futures on Tuesday:
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January platinum lost $27.10, or 1.9%, to $1,385.30 an ounce, trading between $1,375 and $1,414.40. Prices declined 7.5% last month but climbed 5.4% for the quarter.
- Palladium for December delivery shed $8.25, or 1.1%, to $718.90 an ounce, ranging from $714 to $729.10. Prices advanced 0.5% in September and 10.1% for the quarter.
London Fix Precious Metals
In London bullion fixings, silver edged up while other metals fell. In contrasting the Monday PM to Tuesday PM London fix prices:
- Gold lost $35.70, or 2.7%, to $1,290.75 an ounce,
- Silver added 2 cents, or 0.1%, to $21.70 an ounce,
- Platinum declined $34, or 2.4%, to $1,377 an ounce, and
- Palladium lost $7, or 1%, to $719 an ounce
U.S. Mint Bullion Sales in October
Every U.S. Mint bullion series started October higher on Tuesday, although and as typical, not all coin sizes advanced. Sales increases by coin totals are listed in the following table:
American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Sales | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tuesday Sales | Last Week | Week-To-Date Sales | October Sales | YTD Sales | |
$50 American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 0 | 605,000 |
$25 American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 3,000 | 0 | 0 | 53,000 |
$10 American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 0 | 104,000 |
$5 American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins | 5,000 | 0 | 5,000 | 5,000 | 470,000 |
$50 American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coins | 1,500 | 4,500 | 1,500 | 1,500 | 201,500 |
White Mountain 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | N/A | 35,000* | |||
Perry’s Victory 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 1,200 | 0 | 1,200 | 1,200 | 26,200 |
Great Basin 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 2,200 | 0 | 2,200 | 2,200 | 27,200 |
Fort McHenry 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 2,000 | 0 | 2,000 | 2,000 | 27,000 |
American Silver Eagle Bullion Coins | 187,000 | 675,000 | 675,000 | 187,000 | 36,275,000 |
*Sold out.