For a second consecutive day on Tuesday, palladium gained, while gold, silver and platinum declined. Gold’s loss was actually its third straight.
Gold for August delivery fell by $11.10, or 0.6%, to settle at $1,958.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold futures traded between $1,953 and $1,985.90, after sliding by 0.4% on Monday.
"Gold and silver prices are lower in midday dealings Tuesday, losing initial gains that were seen following a U.S. inflation report that came in very close to market expectations," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, said in a daily research note.
Earlier Tuesday, the U.S. Labor Department reported that consumer prices moved up last month by 0.1%, slowing from April’s increase of 0.4%. Annual inflation eased in May to 4% from 4.9%. The core rate, which strips food and energy prices, was 0.4% for a third straight month, while the year-on-year core rate slowed to 5.3% from 5.5%.
"Gold couldn’t hold on to post-CPI gains over growing concern that stubborn underlying inflation may produce a hawkish Fed dot-plot tomorrow pointing to fewer-than-expected rate cuts in 2024," Reuters quoted Tai Wong, a New York-based independent metals trader.
Elsewhere, silver for July delivery gave back 23.7 cents, or 1%, to settle at $23.822 an ounce. Silver futures ranged from $23.66 to $24.52, after dropping by 1.4% on Monday.
In other precious metals prices for the day:
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July platinum shed $13.40, or 1.4%, to $981.90 an ounce, trading between $978.70 and $1,003.
- Palladium for September delivery tacked on $17.50, or 1.3%, to $1,358.60 an ounce, ranging from $1,335 to $1,384.50.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2023
On Tuesday, the U.S. Mint published bullion sales gains for the first time month. Increases were reported across all their product lines. The table below presents a breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products sold, with columns indicating the number of coins sold (not total ounces) during different time periods.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday / Week / June | Last Week | February | March | April | May | 2023 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 16,000 | 0 | 41,500 | 211,000 | 159,500 | 60,500 | 606,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 1,000 | 0 | 8,000 | 1,000 | 8,000 | 18,000 | 73,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 4,000 | 0 | 12,000 | 10,000 | 12,000 | 32,000 | 132,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 15,000 | 0 | 85,000 | 10,000 | 35,000 | 80,000 | 340,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 7,000 | 0 | 19,500 | 73,000 | 61,000 | 47,000 | 266,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 725,000 | 0 | 900,000 | 900,000 | 900,000 | 1,593,000 | 8,967,000 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 3,500 | 0 | N/A | 7,500 | 500 | 1,200 | 12,700 |
