For a second straight session, platinum prices increased while those for gold, silver and palladium declined.
Gold for June delivery dipped $1.60, or 0.09%, to settle at $1,722.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"More chart consolidation and some profit taking by the shorter-term futures traders are featured early this week. The gold market bulls are still encouraged by their metal’s stability amid recent rallies in global stock markets," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a daily research note. "This week’s drop in crude oil prices has somewhat curtailed demand for the precious metals, as oil is arguably the leader of the raw commodity sector."
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,704.10 to a high of $1,731.90. They lost 0.7% on Monday.
Silver for July delivery — the new, most-active contract — slid 1.3 cents, or 0.08%, to close at $15.328 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $15.08 and $15.51. They declined 0.4% on Monday.
In other precious metals prices Tuesday:
-
July platinum rose $18.60, or 2.4%, to $795.60 an ounce, ranging from $771.30 to $801.50.
- Palladium for June delivery declined $16.10, or 0.9%, to $1,878.70 an ounce, trading between $1,862.50 and $1,922.10.
London Precious Metals Prices (LBMA)
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Monday PM to Tuesday PM:
- Gold declined $23.40, or 1.4%, to $1,691.55 an ounce.
- Silver fell 6 cents, or 0.4%, to $15.145 an ounce.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2020
United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged Tuesday following solid gains on Monday. Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of coins sold during varying periods.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday | Last Week | This Week | January | February | March | April | 2020 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 36,000 | 9,000 | 38,000 | 3,500 | 133,000 | 101,500 | 276,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23,000 | 2,000 | 8,000 | 0 | 33,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18,000 | 2,000 | 20,000 | 0 | 40,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 60,000 | 20,000 | 95,000 | 0 | 175,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 12,000 | 9,500 | 21,000 | 1,000 | 65,500 | 25,500 | 113,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 400,000 | 3,846,000 | 650,000 | 5,482,500 | 750,000 | 10,728,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14,500 | 9,300 | 31,200 | 1,500 | 56,500 |
In terms of 5-ounce silver bullion sales for 2020, the U.S. Mint is working on getting them automated and reported. Initial U.S. Mint-provided figures have the first two 2020-dated pieces at 45,000 produced and sold per issue. These amounts are being verified.
