Precious metals futures closed mostly lower Tuesday after an extended break from trading for the U.S. Memorial Day holiday on Monday.
Gold for June delivery fell $6.50, or 0.5%, to settle at $1,277.10 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The close was the weakest since last Wednesday, May 22.
"The most important force in the market at the moment is the U.S.-China trade tensions and once again we see the dollar benefiting from safe-haven flows rather than gold," Reuters quoted Suki Cooper, precious metals analyst at Standard Chartered Bank.
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,275.10 to a high of $1,286.90. They gained 0.6% last week.
Silver for July delivery lost 23.50 cents, or 1.6%, to settle at $14.32 an ounce. The settlement was the lowest since Nov. 30, 2018. Silver futures traded between $14.26 and $14.61. They advanced 1.2% last week for their first weekly increase in four weeks.
In other precious metals prices on Tuesday:
-
July platinum declined $5.80, or 0.7%, to $797.10 an ounce, ranging from $796.10 to $817.80.
- Palladium for June delivery gained $13.80, or 1%, to $1,339.50 an ounce, trading between $1,318 and $1,343.40.
London Precious Metals Prices
UK markets closed Monday for a bank holiday. In comparing their levels from Friday PM to Tuesday PM:
- Gold fell $4.20, or 0.3%, to $1,278.30 an ounce.
- Silver declined 7 cents, or 0.5%, to $14.48 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
US Mint 2019 Bullion Sales
United States Mint bullion sales moved up by 1,000 ounces in American Gold Eagles and by 140,000 ounces in American Silver Eagles.
Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of coins sold during varying periods. Products with an asterisk (*) are no longer available.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday | Last Week | March | April | May | 2019 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin* | N/A | 4,000 | 6,500 | N/A | 40,000 | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 1,000 | 1,500 | 8,500 | 6,500 | 3,500 | 74,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 0 | 19,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 4,000 | 2,000 | 0 | 26,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 5,000 | 15,000 | 25,000 | 5,000 | 140,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 5,500 | 6,500 | 3,000 | 44,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 140,000 | 566,000 | 850,000 | 1,196,000 | 866,000 | 8,987,000 |
| Lowell 5 Oz Silver Coin* | N/A | 80,000 | N/A | 80,000 | ||
| American Memorial Park 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 78,000 | N/A | 78,000 | 78,000 | |
Silver is at a 6-month low today & just 19-cents from going under $14 per ounce! When will the U.S. Mint finally lower its silver coins, silver medals & silver coin sets prices??!! They haven’t been lowered in many moons!
NumisdudeTX
The simple reason is because they don’t have to. Collectors are still buying them at their hugely inflated premiums so why would they lower the price? The only reason they raise and lower prices with gold and platinum collectables is because they want to make more $$ when the spot price increases. When gold/platinum spot decreases, they are already making a $300+ premium per coin, so it doesn’t really matter anyway. American greed at its best!
Millhouse –
Well said & so true! A sad situation for sure.
NumisdudeTX