Gold futures on Tuesday exactly matched their modest prior-day gain while silver drove its losing streak to seven sessions and to a fresh eight-week low.
Gold for December delivery edged up 40 cents to settle at $1,088.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold prices ranged from a low of $1,084 to a high of $1,094.80.
"Gold prices finished the U.S. day session near unchanged Tuesday as the market saw chart consolidation after recent strong selling pressure," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a report. "Some more short covering in the futures market and a bit of bargain hunting in the cash have been featured early this week."
Silver for December delivery shed 6 cents, or 0.4%, to close at $14.36 an ounce, the lowest since Sept. 15 when the settlement was $14.33 an ounce. Silver prices ranged from $14.27 to $14.56. They declined on Monday by 1.9%.
In PGM futures on Tuesday:
-
January platinum fell $14.90, or 1.6%, to $899.50 an ounce, trading between $897.10 and $919.20.
- Palladium for December delivery edged up 85 cents, or 0.1%, to settle at $597.80 an ounce, ranging from $596 to $615.90.
London Precious Metals Prices
Earlier fixed London gold and silver prices declined. In comparing their prices from Monday PM to Tuesday PM:
- Gold dipped $2.50, or 0.2%, to $1,087.10 an ounce.
- Silver slipped 23 cents, or 1.6%, to $14.55 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales
United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged Tuesday but they did advance later in the day on Monday. Those gains included 10,500 ounces in American Gold Eagles, 1,500 ounces in America Gold Buffalo coins and 1,016,500 ounces in American Silver Eagles.
The U.S. Mint limited Silver Eagle sales this week to 1,107,500 coins. Buyers claimed 91.8% of them on Monday, leaving 91,000 left until next week.
Below is a listing of U.S. Mint bullion products with the number of coins sold during varying periods. Products with an asterisk (*) are no longer available.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday Sales | Monday Sales | Last Week | This Week | Oct Sales | Nov Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 8,500 | 4,500 | 8,500 | 26,000 | 13,000 | 559,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4,000 | 0 | 67,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 4,000 | 2,000 | 4,000 | 4,000 | 6,000 | 152,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 10,000 | 30,000 | 10,000 | 50,000 | 40,000 | 920,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 1,500 | 4,500 | 1,500 | 10,500 | 6,000 | 187,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 1,016,500 | 1,079,500 | 1,016,500 | 3,788,000 | 2,096,000 | 41,938,500 |
| 2015 Homestead 5 Oz Silver Coins* | Sold Out | 35,000 | |||||
| 2015 Kisatchie 5 Oz Silver Coins* | 42,000 | ||||||
| 2015 Blue Ridge Parkway 5 Oz Silver Coins* | 45,000 | ||||||
| 2015 Bombay Hook 5 Oz Silver Coins* | 45,000 | ||||||
