Gold, silver and platinum advanced for a second day in a row Tuesday, snapping a streak of up and down daily settlements that started a week ago Monday.
Gold for June delivery tacked on $10.70, or 0.9%, to end at $1,213.90 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement price is the highest since April 6 when gold closed at $1,218.60 an ounce.
Gold’s strength Tuesday "looks like it’s mainly U.S. dollar driven," said Colin Cieszynski, chief market strategist at CMC Markets. "Gold may remain active over the next 36 hours because it looks like the street may be starting to price in a significant delay to interest rate liftoff."
Gold prices traded from a low of $1,198.60 to a high of $1,214.90, one day after rallying 2.4%.
Silver for May delivery rose 20 cents, or 1.2%, to settle at $16.59 an ounce. Silver prices ranged from $16.28 to $16.66. They soared 4.9% in the previous session.
In PGM futures on Tuesday:
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July platinum gained $5.20, or 0.5%, to $1,158.60 an ounce, trading between $1,140.70 and $1,161.
- Palladium for June delivery declined $1.30, or 0.2%, to $781.15 an ounce, ranging from $770.85 to $782.45.
London Precious Metals Prices
Earlier fixed London precious metals moved in the same direction as later settled bullion futures in New York. In comparing London metal prices from Monday PM to Tuesday PM:
- Gold added $9, or 0.8%, to $1,209 an ounce,
- Silver rose 2 cents, or 0.1%, to $16.32 an ounce,
- Platinum gained $19, or 1.7%, to $1,144 an ounce, and
- Palladium fell $5, or 0.6%, to $771 an ounce.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in April
United States Mint bullion sales registered strong gains Tuesday with gold coins up 7,000 ounces and silver coins up 679,000 ounces. This week’s two-day gold sales total 11,500 ounces, the most since the full week ended March 20 when 16,000 ounces sold.
Last week, silver sales at 902,500 ounces jumped the most since the week after the first 2015-dated Silver Eagles launched in January.
The table below offers a listing of U.S. Mint bullion products shows the number of coins sold during varying periods. Products with an asterisk (*) are no longer available.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday Sales | Last Week | Current Week | March Sales | April Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins | 5,000 | 5,500 | 8,500 | 35,000 | 20,500 | 119,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 1,000 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 5,000 | 4,000 | 29,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 8,000 | 4,000 | 48,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 5,000 | 5,000 | 70,000 | 30,000 | 265,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 1,500 | 2,500 | 2,000 | 9,500 | 10,000 | 66,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins | 678,000 | 755,000 | 678,000 | 3,519,000 | 2,851,500 | 14,922,500 |
| 2015 Homestead 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 15,000 | – | 35,000 | ||
| 2015 Kisatchie 5 Oz Silver Coins | 200 | 29,500 | 500 | N/A | 30,000 | 30,000 |
