Gold prices ended lower for a second straight session Tuesday after rising in the previous three.
Gold for June delivery shed $2.70, or 0.2%, to finish at $1,296.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold prices traded from a low of $1,286.10 to a high of $1,302.
"Rumbling in the background there are still tensions between Russia and the West over Ukraine … but we are seeing some pre-selling ahead of the FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee meeting) and the non-farm payrolls," Reuters quoted Societe Generale analyst Robin Bhar. "These are both expected to be generally upbeat on the economy … therefore that is going to be bearish for gold."
The FOMC meeting ends on Wednesday while the U.S. monthly jobs report is due for release on Friday.
Silver for July delivery – the new most active contract — declined 8 cents, or 0.4%, to settle at $19.54 an ounce. Prices ranged from $19.34 to $19.63.
PGMs advanced on Tuesday. In their breakdowns:
-
July platinum advanced $11.70, or 0.8%, to $1,431.40 an ounce, trading between $1,411.10 and $1,438.
- Palladium for June delivery rose $7.20, or 0.9%, to $807.90 an ounce, ranging from $795.25 to $809.75.
London Fix Precious Metals
Earlier fixed London precious metals declined. In contrasting the London fix prices from Monday PM to Tuesday PM:
- Gold dipped $1.25, or 0.1%, to $1,297.75 an ounce,
- Silver shed 27 cents, or 1.4%, to $19.33 an ounce,
- Platinum dropped $4, or 0.3%, to $1,424 an ounce, and
- Palladium fell $12.50, or 1.5%, to $799.50 an ounce
US Mint Bullion Sales in March
Reported U.S. Mint bullion sales were muted Monday but they jumped on Tuesday with overall gains of:
- 200 ounces in platinum coins,
- 9,000 ounces in gold coins (4,000 more ounces than last week’s total), and
- 915,500 ounces in silver coins
American Silver Eagles hurdled 18 million for the year to land at 18,469,500. Sales have never been quicker from the January through April 29 period.
Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of bullion coins sold this week, last week, last month, this month so far, and the year-to-date.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday / Week-To-Date Sales | Sales Last Week | March Sales | April Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $100 American Platinum Eagle Bullion Coins | 200 | 100 | 10,000 | 1,200 | 11,200 |
| $50 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 3,000 | 3,000 | 16,000 | 25,500 | 126,000 |
| $25 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 2,000 | 0 | 2,000 | 3,000 | 20,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 4,000 | 20,000 | 62,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 15,000 | 5,000 | 30,000 | 50,000 | 290,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coins | 3,500 | 1,000 | 12,000 | 17,500 | 83,000 |
| $1 American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins | 915,500 | 1,246,500 | 5,354,000 | 4,590,500 | 18,469,500 |
| Great Smoky Mountains National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | N/A* | 600 | 12,400 | 10,600 | 23,000 |
*The U.S. Mint on Monday, April 21, said it temporarily sold out of Great Smoky Mountains National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins and that it would have additional inventory available in a few weeks.
