Gold ended higher for a second day in a row Tuesday, doubling the prior session’s very modest gain.
Gold for June delivery rose 80 cents to finish at $1,294.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices traded from a low of $1,286 to a high of $1,297.20. Risk-aversion in the market was supportive.
"The weakness in the equity market is keeping gold supported," Fain Shaffer, the president of Infinity Trading Corp. in Indianapolis, said in a telephone interview according to Bloomberg News. "The market will be likely remain range-bound" until signals from the Federal Reserve on U.S. monetary stimulus, he said.
Silver also climbed for a second consecutive session, and modestly, while platinum declined after a day of gains and palladium extended advances to three straight sessions. In the breakdowns:
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Silver for July delivery added 5 cents, or 0.2%, to $19.40 an ounce, trading between $19.23 and $19.47.
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July platinum shed $1.30, or 0.1%, to $1,468.90 an ounce, ranging from $1,466.50 to $1,479.50.
- Palladium for June delivery tacked on $10.25, or 1.3%, to $825.85 an ounce, trading between $814 and $830.
London Fix Precious Metals
Earlier fixed London precious metal declined after rising on Monday. In contrasting the London fix bullion prices from Monday PM to Tuesday PM:
- Gold dipped $6.50, or 0.5%, to $1,295.50 an ounce,
- Silver lost 18 cents, or 0.9%, to $19.37 an ounce,
- Platinum fell $14, or 0.9%, to $1,469 an ounce, and
- Palladium slipped $2, or 0.2%, to $820 an ounce
US Mint Bullion Sales
U.S. Mint bullion sales were unchanged as of 3:27 p.m. ET. Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of bullion coins sold last week, this week so far, last month, the month so far, and the year-to-date.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday Sales | Sales Last Week | Week-To-Date Sales | April Sales | May Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $100 American Platinum Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 100 | 0 | 1,200 | 700 | 11,900 |
| $50 American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 1,500 | 26,000 | 13,000 | 139,500 |
| $25 American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 3,000 | 0 | 5,000 | 3,000 | 25,000 |
| $10 American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 6,000 | 0 | 20,000 | 6,000 | 68,000 |
| $5 American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 5,000 | 0 | 55,000 | 20,000 | 310,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 3,500 | 0 | 17,500 | 6,000 | 89,000 |
| $1 American Silver Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 918,000 | 0 | 3,569,500 | 3,262,000 | 20,710,000 |
| Great Smoky Mountains National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10,600 | 3,500 | 26,500 |
| Shenandoah National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | N/A | 17,200 | 17,200 |
