Gold edged lower Tuesday, ending down for the first time in three sessions and a smidgen away from a three-week high.
Gold for June delivery dipped 70 cents to close at $1,308.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Gold prices traded from a low of $1,304.40 to a high of $1,314.30.
"Gold is experiencing a wild roller coaster of uncertainty as the daily events and battles in Ukraine come to light," MarketWatch quoted Kevin Kerr, editor of CommodityConfidential.com. "Even so, we are seeing cautious investors taking profits on moments of calm."
"We see overall gold prices remaining very firm with a significant long-term bullish trajectory, although it will be coupled with frequent profit taking during that steady rise," Kerr added.
On Monday, gold settled at the highest price since April 14.
Silver and platinum extended to three straight winning sessions and palladium to two. In their daily breakdowns:
-
Silver for July delivery advanced 7 cents, or 0.4%, to $19.65 an ounce, ranging from $19.51 to $19.72.
-
July platinum added $9.70, or 0.7%, to $1,458.10 an ounce, trading between $1,447.10 and $1,459.60.
-
Palladium for June delivery rose $1.90, or 0.2%, to $818.40 an ounce, ranging from $812.25 to $822.
London Fix Precious Metals
London markets opened following a break for May Day holiday on Monday. When comparing London bullion fix prices from Friday PM to Tuesday PM:
- Gold gained $25, or 2%, to $1,306.25 an ounce,
- Silver added 47 cents, or 2.5%, to $19.64 an ounce,
- Platinum advanced $25, or 1.8%, to $1,450 an ounce, and
- Palladium rose $1, or 0.1%, to $817 an ounce
US Mint Bullion Sales in March
Every U.S. Mint bullion gold and silver product type advanced on Tuesday, although not all sizes of Gold Eagles gained. In totals, sales increased 2,500 ounces in gold coins and 624,000 ounces in silver coins. In notables:
-
Sales of Great Smoky Mountains National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins increased for the first time since the Mint’s inventory of them sold out on April 21.
-
Shenandoah National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins are now available with debut sales of 14,800 coins.
-
American Silver Eagles topped 19 million (19,173,000). Last year when the annual Silver Eagle sales record was hit, the coins also reached the 19 million mark (19,029,500) on May 6, 2013.
Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of bullion coins sold on Tuesday, last week, the week-to-date, last month, the month so far, and the year-to-date.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday Sales | Sales Last Week | Week To Date | April Sales | May Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $100 American Platinum Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 200 | 0 | 1,200 | 0 | 11,200 |
| $50 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 500 | 3,500 | 500 | 26,000 | 500 | 127,000 |
| $25 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 4,000 | 0 | 5,000 | 0 | 22,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 | 0 | 62,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 10,000 | 20,000 | 10,000 | 55,000 | 15,000 | 305,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coins | 1,000 | 5,000 | 1,000 | 17,500 | 2,500 | 85,500 |
| $1 American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins | 532,500 | 1,086,500 | 532,500 | 4,590,500 | 703,500 | 19,173,000 |
| Great Smoky Mountains National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 3,500 | N/A* | 3,500 | 10,600 | 3,500 | 26,500 |
| Shenandoah National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 14,800 | 14,800 | N/A | 14,800 | 14,800 | |
*The U.S. Mint had temporarily sold out of Great Smoky Mountains National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins. Shenandoah National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins debuted this week.
