Precious metals futures declined as a group on Tuesday after they gained on Monday.
Gold for April delivery lost $14.20, or 1.1%, to settle at $1,318.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"The precious metals bulls got punched in the nose by new Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, who sounded a hawkish tone on future U.S. monetary policy," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a report.
Gold futures traded from a low of $1,314.40 to a high of $1,338.40. They rose 0.2% in their start to the week on Monday.
Silver for May delivery declined 18.8 cents, or 1.1%, to close at $16.434 an ounce. Silver futures ranged from $16.34 to $16.72. They gained 0.4% on Monday.
In rounding out precious metals futures prices on Tuesday:
-
April platinum fell $17.20, or 1.7%, to $984.60 an ounce, trading between $983 and $1,005.
- Palladium for June delivery dropped $25.20, or 2.4%, to $1,029.25 an ounce, ranging from $1,028.50 to $1,057.30.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Monday PM to Tuesday PM:
- Gold declined $7.75, or 0.6%, to $1,325.75 an ounce.
- Silver fell 6 cents, or 0.4%, to $16.61 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
U.S. Mint bullion sales were unchanged. 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 | January | February | 2018 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | N/A | 20,000 | 20,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 38,000 | 36,000 | 5,000 | 41,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3,000 | 16,000 | 0 | 16,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4,000 | 26,000 | 0 | 26,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 5,000 | 0 | 25,000 | 80,000 | 5,000 | 85,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 500 | 14,000 | 24,000 | 2,500 | 26,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 70,000 | 237,500 | 742,000 | 3,235,000 | 942,500 | 4,177,500 |
| Pictured Rocks 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | N/A | 20,000 | N/A | 20,000 | 20,000 | |
