Precious metals declined in their start to the new trading week on Tuesday, with U.S. markets closed on Monday for the Juneteenth holiday. The losses for the day varied, with gold falling by 1.2% and silver by 3.7%. Both gold and silver reached nearly four-week lows.
Gold for August delivery dropped by $23.50 to settle at $1,947.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the lowest since May 25.
Gold and silver prices fell, "feeling the pressure of a higher U.S. dollar index and lower crude oil prices on this day." Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, said in a daily research note.
"The marketplace awaits Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s latest thoughts. He will provide his semi-annual monetary policy report to Congress on Wednesday and Thursday," Wyckoff added.
Gold futures traded between $1,940.80 and $1,971.80. They shed 0.3% last week.
Meanwhile, silver for July delivery sank 89.2 cents to finish at $23.234 an ounce. Similar to gold, this closing price was the lowest since May 25. The range for silver futures was between $23.10 and $24.26. Last week, they recorded a 1.2% decrease.
In other precious metals prices on Tuesday:
-
July platinum declined by $19.30, or 2%, to $968 an ounce, trading between $956.30 and $989.
- Palladium for September delivery ended down $37.10, or 2.6%, to $1,379.10 an ounce, ranging from $1,351.50 to $1,417..
Last week, platinum fell by 2.5%, while palladium soared 8.5%.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2023
Last Tuesday, June 13, the U.S. Mint published bullion sales gains for the first time this month. No further sales have been reported since then. 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 / This Week | Last Week | March | April | May | June | 2023 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 16,000 | 211,000 | 159,500 | 60,500 | 16,000 | 606,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 8,000 | 18,000 | 1,000 | 73,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 4,000 | 10,000 | 12,000 | 32,000 | 4,000 | 132,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 15,000 | 10,000 | 35,000 | 80,000 | 15,000 | 340,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 7,000 | 73,000 | 61,000 | 47,000 | 7,000 | 266,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 725,000 | 900,000 | 900,000 | 1,593,000 | 725,000 | 8,967,000 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 3,500 | 7,500 | 500 | 1,200 | 3,500 | 12,700 |
