Precious metals posted a second consecutive day of declines, with losses ranging from 0.8% for gold to 4.6% for palladium. Gold finished Tuesday at a near three-week low, while silver finished at a near four-week low.
Gold for December delivery lost $15.10 to settle at $1,973.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the lowest since Oct. 18. Gold futures traded between $1,962.80 and $1,985.20. On Monday, they declined by 0.5%.
Meanwhile, silver for December dropped by 64.5 cents, or 2.8%, closing at $22.589 an ounce. The settlement was the lowest since Oct. 12. Silver futures ranged from $22.50 to $23.17. They slipped by 0.2% on Monday.
In other precious metals prices on Tuesday:
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January platinum fell by $19.60, or 2.1%, to $898 an ounce, trading between $896.60 and $915.40.
- Palladium for December delivery tumbled by $51.50 to $1,062.80 an ounce, ranging from $1,057 to $1,115.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2023
On Tuesday, the U.S. Mint increased its bullion sales for the first time this month, with gains of 8,500 ounces in American Gold Eagles, 356,000 ounces in American Silver Eagles, and 3,500 ounces in American Gold Buffalos.
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 / November | Last Week | August | September | October | 2023 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 7,000 | 4,000 | 78,000 | 27,500 | 97,000 | 876,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 1,000 | 3,000 | 2,000 | 13,000 | 7,000 | 96,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 4,000 | 0 | 2,000 | 30,000 | 18,000 | 186,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 150,000 | 40,000 | 30,000 | 605,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 3,500 | 3,000 | 19,500 | 18,500 | 36,500 | 371,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 356,000 | 632,000 | 3,124,000 | 2,970,000 | 3,938,000 | 22,203,000 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12,700 |
