Gold prices advanced for a second session in a row Tuesday, though many investors were sidelined, looking ahead to the Fed’s policy announcement on Wednesday.
Gold for December delivery added $1.60, or 0.1%, to settle at $1,236.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Gold is getting a bid as the dollar weakened and China has announced some stimulus program," Frank McGhee, the head dealer at Integrated Brokerage Services LLC in Chicago, said in a telephone interview according to Bloomberg News. "Tomorrow’s [Fed] decision on the rates will be the guiding force for gold going forward."
Fed officials began their two-day policy meeting earlier today.
In lightened trading volume, gold prices ranged from an intraday low of $1,232.20 to a high of $1,243.20. Gold declined last week by 2.8%, ending at the lowest price since Jan. 22.
Silver for December delivery advanced a dime after picking up a penny in each of the previous two sessions. Closing at $18.72 an ounce, the precious metal traded between $18.61 and $18.89.
In PGM futures on Tuesday:
-
October platinum rose $3.80, or 0.3%, to $1,367.30 an ounce, ranging from $1,360.60 to $1,371.10.
- Palladium for December delivery gained $7.40, or 0.9%, to $844.30 an ounce, trading between $833.20 and $847.
London Fix Precious Metals
Earlier fixed London precious metals were mixed. In contrasting London bullion Fix prices and the LBMA Silver Price from Monday PM to Tuesday PM:
- Gold fell $2, or 0.2%, to $1,232.25 an ounce,
- Silver added 11 cents, or 0.6%, to $18.75,
- Platinum lost $5, or 0.4%, to $1,363 an ounce, and
- Palladium declined $4, or 0.5%, to $837 an ounce
US Mint Bullion Sales
United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged Tuesday as of 3:14 PM ET. Platinum, gold and silver coin sales did advance later in the day on Monday. 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, this month so far, and the year to date.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday Sales | Last Week | Current Week | August Sales | September Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $100 American Platinum Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 100 | 200 | 700 | 400 | 14,000 |
| $50 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 5,500 | 6,500 | 21,000 | 25,500 | 271,000 |
| $25 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 1,000 | 0 | 0 | 5,000 | 32,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 6,000 | 4,000 | 88,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25,000 | 10,000 | 420,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 1,000 | 3,000 | 8,000 | 7,000 | 132,000 |
| $1 American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 470,000 | 0 | 2,007,500 | 810,000 | 28,921,000 |
| Great Smoky Mountains National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 500 | 0 | 0 | 500 | 30,000 |
| Shenandoah National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 500 | 0 | 500 | 500 | 21,000 |
| Arches National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,200 | 0 | 21,200 |
| Great Sand Dunes 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 2,500 | 0 | 7,500 | 2,500 | 10,000 |
