Prices for precious metals increased on Tuesday, with platinum and palladium rising for the second time this week, while gold and silver rebounded from the losses of the prior session, achieving their first gains in three sessions. Gold also ended the day at a three-week high.
Gold for December delivery tacked on $21.30, or 1.1%, to settle at $2,001.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the highest since Oct. 30 when the yellow metal closed at $2,005.60 an ounce.
"The precious metals are seeing support from short covering by the futures traders and from some downbeat U.S. homes sales and leading economic indicators data released earlier this morning. Trader/investor notions of no more Federal Reserve interest rate increases on the horizon are also an underlying bullish element for the metals markets," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, said in a daily research note.
Gold futures traded between $1,979.90 and $2,009.80. They shed 0.2% on Monday.
Silver for December rose by 25.5 cents, or 1.1%, ending at $23.869 an ounce. Silver futures ranged from $23.47 and $24.08. On Monday, they gave back 1%.
In other precious metals prices on Tuesday:
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January platinum increased by $18.50, or 2%, to $945.90 an ounce, trading between $922.20 and $947.80.
- Palladium for December delivery added $3.20, or 0.3%, to $1,095.50 an ounce, ranging from $1,066 to $1,101.50.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2023
U.S. Mint bullion sales last changed on Thursday, and those gains were the second for this month. Advances included 18,500 ounces in American Gold Eagles, 1.083 million ounces in American Silver Eagles, and 6,500 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 / This Week | Last Week | August | September | October | November | 2023 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 15,500 | 78,000 | 27,500 | 97,000 | 22,500 | 891,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 3,000 | 2,000 | 13,000 | 7,000 | 4,000 | 99,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 6,000 | 2,000 | 30,000 | 18,000 | 10,000 | 192,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 45,000 | 150,000 | 40,000 | 30,000 | 45,000 | 650,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 6,500 | 19,500 | 18,500 | 36,500 | 10,000 | 377,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 1,083,000 | 3,124,000 | 2,970,000 | 3,938,000 | 1,439,000 | 23,286,000 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12,700 |
