Precious metals futures on Tuesday moved opposite of their direction on Monday. Silver, platinum and palladium gained while gold slipped from an almost five-week high.
Gold for June delivery retreated $5.50, or 0.4%, to settle at $1,296.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Clearly, gold, like equity indices, has become a headline-driven market," MarketWatch quoted Fawad Razaqzada, technical analyst at Forex.com. "Incoming headlines regarding the ongoing U.S.-China trade dispute, and specifically Donald Trump’s tweets, have led to some sharp moves in recent days."
"While trade uncertainty remains, safe-haven gold ‘should’ remain supported," though gold investors "will also have to consider the impact on physical demand from China in the event of a no deal," Razaqzada added.
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,294.30 to a high of $1,304.20. They gained 1.1% on Monday, ending at their highest price since April 10.
Silver for July delivery rose 3.5 cents, or 0.2%, to settle at $14.812 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $14.74 and $14.87. They dipped less than 0.1% on Monday.
In rounding out precious metals prices Tuesday:
-
July platinum added $4.20, or 0.5%, to $859.10 an ounce, ranging from $854.30 to $868.10.
- Palladium for June delivery climbed $16.20, or 1.2%, to $1,333 an ounce, trading between $1,308 and $1,336.10.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Monday PM to Tuesday PM:
- Gold rose $2.80, or 0.2%, to $1,298.40 an ounce.
- Silver added 9.5 cent, or 0.7%, to $14.755 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
US Mint 2019 Bullion Sales
United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged. Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of coins sold during varying periods. Products with an asterisk (*) are no longer available.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday | Last Week | This Week | March | April | May | 2019 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin* | N/A | 4,000 | 6,500 | N/A | 40,000 | ||
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 500 | 8,500 | 6,500 | 500 | 71,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 0 | 19,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4,000 | 2,000 | 0 | 26,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15,000 | 10,000 | 0 | 145,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5,500 | 6,500 | 0 | 41,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 92,000 | 0 | 850,000 | 1,196,000 | 160,000 | 8,281,000 |
| Lowell 5 Oz Silver Coin* | N/A | 80,000 | N/A | 80,000 | |||
