Precious metals ended divided Tuesday with gold and platinum higher and silver and palladium lower.
Gold for February delivery gained $4.80, or 0.4%, to settle at $1,336.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"There has been no fresh, major fundamental news to drive the safe-haven metal higher early this week. However, the gold charts continue to look bullish, which is inviting technically related buyers," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a report.
"A slumping U.S. dollar index that fell to a more-than-three-year low Tuesday also worked in favor of the precious metals market bulls," Wyckoff added.
Gold futures traded from a low of $1,330.70 to a high of $1,338.90. They dipped 0.1% on Monday.
Meanwhile, silver for March delivery fell 7.6 cents, or 0.5%, to settle at $16.913 an ounce. Silver futures ranged from $16.73 to $17.09. They lost 0.3% in the previous session.
In other precious metals prices:
-
April platinum added $11, or 1.1%, to $1,007.80 an ounce, trading between $993.50 and $1,013.30.
- Palladium for March delivery declined $8.05, or 0.7%, to $1,084.25 an ounce, ranging from $1,082 to $1,095.85.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Monday PM to Tuesday PM:
- Gold declined $2.35, or 0.2%, to $1,332.60 an ounce.
- Silver slipped a half penny, or less than 0.1%, to $17.035 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2018
United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged Tuesday. Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. bullion products with columns listing the number of coins sold during varying periods.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday | Last Week | This Week | December | 2017 Sales | 2018 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 3,500 | 4,500 | 38,000 | 228,500 | 35,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 2,000 | 3,000 | 37,000 | 16,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 4,000 | 64,000 | 26,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 10,000 | 10,000 | 25,000 | 395,000 | 80,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,500 | 2,500 | 14,000 | 99,500 | 23,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 250,000 | 250,000 | 742,000 | 18,065,500 | 3,020,000 |
