Gold futures moved higher on Tuesday for a fifth straight session and closed at an almost six-week high.
Gold for August delivery added $1.20, or less than 0.1%, to settle at $1,288.10 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the highest since the precious metal ended at $1,294 an ounce on May 6. Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,278.60 to a high of $1,293.
"The Brexit vote is obviously key to gold’s appreciation because of the polling suggesting the ‘Leave’ campaign is gathering momentum, creating uncertainty over the outcome," Reuters quoted ETF Securities analyst Martin Arnold.
The U.K. votes next week on an exit from the European Union (Brexit).
"The second thing is the Fed meeting today and tomorrow … and as long as the Fed is unclear with the timing of the rate hike, that’s a good environment for gold," Arnold added
Snapping a four-session winning streak and slipping from a more than five-week high, silver for July delivery declined 1.9 cents, or 0.1%, to settle at $17.424 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $17.22 and $17.50. In the prior session, they climbed 0.7% and closed at their highest level since early May.
In rounding out the precious metals complex:
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July platinum fell $23.40, or 2.4%, to $971.90 an ounce, ranging from $971.50 to $994.50.
- Palladium for September delivery declined $10.10, or 1.9%, to $535.75 an ounce, trading between $533.85 and $543.80.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Monday PM to Tuesday PM:
- Gold rose $7.15, or 0.6%, to $1,287.15 an ounce.
- Silver declined 7 cents, or 0.4%, to $17.25 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in 2016
United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged Tuesday. On Monday, the U.S. Mint said it is limiting this week’s sales of American Silver Eagle to 1,672,500 coins. 2016 American Silver Eagles are running at a record pace with sales of 24,327,500 coins, representing a 31% increase over those sold through same time in record-breaking year 2015.
Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of bullion coins sold during varying periods of time.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday / This Week | Last Week | Apr Sales | May Sale | June Sales | 2016 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 12,500 | 93,500 | 64,500 | 22,000 | 365,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 6,000 | 7,000 | 0 | 43,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 14,000 | 10,000 | 2,000 | 78,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 20,000 | 55,000 | 60,000 | 20,000 | 455,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 3,000 | 19,500 | 18,500 | 6,000 | 104,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 843,500 | 4,072,000 | 4,498,500 | 914,500 | 24,327,500 |
| 2016 Shawnee 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 105,000 |
| 2016 Cumberland Gap 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 0 | 64,000 | 11,000 | 0 | 75,000 |
| 2016 Harpers Ferry 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 33,000 | 64,000 | 11,000 | 33,000 | 33,000 |
Platinum at about $315 per ounce less than gold now is a bargain considering how rare it is compared to gold!
-NumisDudeTX