Gold declined while other metals gained in their start to the new trading week. U.S. markets were closed on Monday for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday. Silver performed the best among metal winners, ending Tuesday at its highest price in eight weeks.
Gold for February delivery settled down $4.10, or 0.2%, to $1,812.40 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Gold is in for a choppy period, but the medium-term outlook still remains bullish if prices can hover around the $1800 level. Gold will remain an inflation hedge for much of Latin America and the emerging world," Reuters quoted Ed Moya, a senior market analyst at brokerage OANDA.
Gold futures traded between $1,804.70 and $1,822.90. They advanced 1.1% last week.
Silver for March delivery jumped 57.4 cents, or 2.5%, to close at $23.492 an ounce. The settlement was the highest since Nov. 24 when silver ended at $23.496 an ounce. Silver futures ranged from a low of $22.82 to a high of $23.68. They surged 2.3% last week.
In other precious metals futures prices on Tuesday:
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April platinum moved up $14.90, or 1.5%, to $979.50 an ounce, trading between $959.60 and $987.
- Palladium for March delivery rose $26.40, or 1.4%, to $1,904.60 an ounce, ranging from $1,865 to $1,928.50.
Last week platinum rose 0.9% while palladium dropped 2.3%.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2022
Published United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged Tuesday. 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 / This Week | Last Week | December | 2021 Sales | 2022 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 14,000 | 41,000 | 1,115,500 | 87,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 18,000 | 1,000 | 95,000 | 44,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 14,000 | 2,000 | 162,000 | 52,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 35,000 | 0 | 490,000 | 150,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 7,000 | 10,500 | 350,500 | 42,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 500,000 | 0 | 28,275,000 | 3,501,000 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 75,000 | 0 |
| $25 American Eagle 1 Oz Palladium Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8,700 | 0 |
| Tuskegee Airmen 5 oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 52,900 | 0 |
