Gold Edges Lower Ahead of Fed Rate Decision

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Gold bullion in pile
Gold edged lower on Tuesday while other precious metals advanced

Gold futures closed to an almost 2-week low on Tuesday while silver bounced modestly from a more than 6.3-year low.

Gold for February delivery shed $1.80, or 0.2%, to end at $1,061.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the lowest since the Dec. 3 close at $1,061.20 an ounce, the day after prices hit a near 6-year low at $1,053.80 an ounce.

Trading volume was lighter than typical with some investors on the sidelines ahead of the Fed’s rate decision on Wednesday.

"A lot of people are hopeful that the first rate rise will mark the beginning of a period where gold can start slowly to return to trading on more fundamental factors," Reuters quoted ICBC Standard Bank analyst Tom Kendall. "But it is hard to see what would really sustainably turn things around for gold in the short to medium term."

Gold prices ranged from a low of $1,057.40 to a high of $1,067.90. They declined by 1.1% on Monday.

Silver for March delivery advanced 7.5 cents, or 0.6%, to finish at $13.77 an ounce. Silver prices traded from $13.63 to $13.81. In the prior session, they fell 1.4% and settled at their lowest level since July 30, 2009.

In PGM futures on Tuesday:

  • January platinum added $5.60, or 0.7%, to $855.80 an ounce, ranging from $847 to $861.

  • Palladium for March delivery surged $18.25, or 3.3%, to $566.95 an ounce, trading between $545.25 and $568.80.

Palladium is riding a three-session winning streak while platinum marked a second day of gains.

London Precious Metals Prices

Earlier fixed London gold and silver prices were mixed. In comparing their levels from Monday PM to Tuesday PM:

  • Gold declined $6.75, or 0.6%, to $1,061.50 an ounce.
  • Silver added 3 cents, or 0.2%, to $13.74 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 as of 2:36 p.m. ET. 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 Last Week Nov Sales Dec Sales YTD Sales
$50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins* N/A N/A 80,500 N/A 626,500
$25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins 0 1,000 7,000 1,000 75,000
$10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins* N/A N/A 12,000 N/A 158,000
$5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins* N/A N/A 100,000 N/A 980,000
$50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins 0 500 38,000 1,500 220,500
$1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins 0 1,020,000 4,824,000 1,972,500 46,639,000
2015 Homestead 5 Oz Silver Coins* N/A 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
2015 Saratoga 5 Oz Silver Coins* N/A N/A 35,800 9,200 45,000
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