Gold, silver and other precious metals were little changed Tuesday in thin trading volume that saw investors on the sidelines ahead of the release of minutes from the last FOMC meeting.
Gold for August delivery shed 50 cents to close at $1,316.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Gold prices ended the U.S. day session steady to weaker Tuesday. Trading has turned choppy and sideways amid some technical backing and filling on the charts, some profit taking by the shorter-term traders, and as fresh fundamental news is awaited," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a report.
"The focal point for U.S. traders this week is the FOMC meeting minutes from the Federal Reserve that are due out Wednesday afternoon," Wyckoff added.
Gold prices traded from an intraday low of $1,314.30 to a high of $1,325.70.
Silver for September delivery slipped one-tenth of a cent to close at $21.01 an ounce. Silver prices ranged from $20.96 to $21.25.
In PGM futures:
-
October platinum inched up 90 cents to $1,496.50 an ounce, trading between $1,493.60 and $1,509.50.
- Palladium for September gained $3.95, or 0.5%, to $872.90 an ounce, ranging from $866.05 to $876.
London Fix Precious Metals
Earlier fixed London precious metals were mixed with mostly modest changes. In contrasting the London bullion fix prices from Monday PM to Tuesday PM:
- Gold gained $10, or 0.8%, to $1,323 an ounce,
- Silver rose 13 cents, or 0.6%, to $21.08 an ounce,
- Platinum declined $2, or 0.1%, to $1,499 an ounce, and
- Palladium added $3, or 0.3%, to $871 an ounce
US Mint Bullion Sales in July
Sales of United States Mint bullion coins were unchanged Tuesday as of 3:02 p.m. ET. Levels did rise later in the day on Monday with gold coin sales up 1,000 ounces and silver coin sales rising by 230,000 ounces.
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 to date, and the year to date.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday Sales | Sales Last Week Sales | Week-To-Date | June Sales | July Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $100 American Platinum Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 700 | 0 | 12,900 |
| $50 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 7,500 | 500 | 43,000 | 6,000 | 204,500 |
| $25 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 27,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4,000 | 0 | 72,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 10,000 | 0 | 35,000 | 5,000 | 365,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 1,500 | 500 | 16,000 | 1,000 | 112,500 |
| $1 American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 395,000 | 230,000 | 2,692,000 | 305,000 | 24,433,500 |
| Great Smoky Mountains National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 29,000 |
| Shenandoah National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 900 | 0 | 20,000 |
| Arches National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | -800* | 0 | 18,500 | 0 | 18,500 |
*On Monday, June 30, the U.S Mint reduced sales of Arches silver coins.
