Gold futures ended on the downside Tuesday, pressured by strength in the U.S. dollar and left aside as riskier bets lured investors.
Gold for April delivery shed $9.30, or 0.7%, to settle at $1,232.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Gold prices ended the U.S. day session moderately lower Tuesday, pressured by a firmer U.S. dollar index and solidly lower crude oil prices," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a report. "The recent deterioration in the chart postures for gold and silver markets have prompted some new technical selling recently."
Gold ranged from a low of $1,230.60 to a high of $1,245.90. Prices on Monday advanced $6.90, or 0.6%.
Elsewhere in precious metals trading:
-
Silver for March delivery declined 20 cents, or 1.2%, to $16.87 an ounce, trading between $16.72 and $17.10.
-
April platinum fell $13.10, or 1.1%, to $1,207.30 an ounce, ranging from $1,204.50 to $1,225.70.
- Palladium for March delivery lost $13.95, or 1.8%, to $765.70 an ounce, trading between $763.60 and $784.
London Fix Precious Metals
Excluding platinum, earlier fixed London precious metals lost ground. In comparing London bullion Fix prices from Monday PM to Tuesday PM:
- Gold fell $4, or 0.3%, to $1,234.50 an ounce,
- Silver lost 17 cents, or 1%, to $16.80 an ounce,
- Platinum gained $1, or 0.1%, to $1,216 an ounce, and
- Palladium declined $2, or 0.3%, to $776 an ounce.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in February
United States Mint bullion sales rose by 242,000 ounces in silver coins and by 3,500 ounces in gold coins. They also advance later in the day on Monday with gains of 395,000 ounces in silver coins and 4,000 ounces in gold coins.
Below are sales of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of bullion coins sold during varying periods.
American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tuesday Sales | Monday Sales | Last Week | Current Week | January Sales | February Week | YTD Sales | |
$100 American Platinum Eagle Bullion Coins* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
$50 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 1,500 | 2,000 | 1,500 | 51,500 | 3,500 | 55,000 |
$25 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 1,000 | 0 | 1,000 | 18,000 | 1,000 | 19,000 |
$10 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36,000 | 0 | 36,000 |
$5 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 15,000 | 5,000 | 5,000 | 20,000 | 115,000 | 25,000 | 140,000 |
$50 American Buffalo Bullion Gold Coins | 2,000 | 1,500 | 2,000 | 3,500 | 34,500 | 5,500 | 40,000 |
$1 American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins | 242,000 | 395,000 | 752,000 | 637,000 | 5,530,000 | 1,389,000 | 6,919,000 |
Great Smoky Mountains National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Shenandoah National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 600 | 0 | 600 |
Arches National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Great Sand Dunes 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Everglades 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Coins with an asterisk (*) have sold out for 2014 with 2015-dated versions yet to be released.