On the final day of February, palladium retreated while gold, silver and platinum advanced. Each of the metals, however, posted sharp monthly losses.
Gold for April delivery rose $11.80, or 0.7%, to settle at $1,836.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Short covering to close out the month of February and perceived bargain hunting are featured after gold hit a nine-week low and silver a nearly four-month low overnight," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, said in a daily research note.
Gold prices logged a 5.6% monthly decline, after jumping 6.5% in January. They are 0.6% higher on the year to date.
Meanwhile, silver for May delivery added 27.8 cents, or 1.3%, to close at $21.071 an ounce. Silver prices plunged 11.6% in February after slipping 0.9% in January. They are 12.4% lower on the year. On Monday, silver logged its worst settlement since Nov. 4.
In other precious metals prices on Tuesday and for the month:
-
April platinum climbed $13.60, or 1.4%, to $955.50 an ounce, trimming its monthly loss to 6.4%.
- Palladium for June delivery shed $7, or 0.5%, to $1,420.90 an ounce, for a drop in February of 13.8%.
The two are lower on the year so far with losses of 11.8% for platinum and 21% for palladium.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2023
Published United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged Tuesday after rising Monday for the first time since Feb. 7. 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 Sales | February | 2023 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 26,500 | 118,000 | 35,500 | 153,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 5,000 | 37,000 | 6,000 | 43,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 4,000 | 62,000 | 6,000 | 68,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 15,000 | 115,000 | 80,000 | 195,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 10,500 | 59,000 | 15,500 | 74,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 450,000 | 3,949,000 | 900,000 | 4,849,000 |
