At the beginning of the new trading year on Tuesday, the prices of precious metals dropped, with the exception of gold, which experienced a slight increase.
Gold for February delivery advanced by $1.60, or 0.08%, to settle at $2,073.40 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Some modest safe-haven demand was featured today, but solid gains in the U.S. dollar index and lower crude oil prices have squelched buyer interest in the metals," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, said in a daily research note.
Gold futures traded between $2,064.30 and $2,088.10. Gold prices soared 13.5% in 2023.
Declining for the sixth time in seven sessions, silver for March delivery fell by 13.3 cents, or 0.6%, to end at $23.953 an ounce. Silver futures ranged from $23.89 to $24.34. In 2023, silver prices inched up by 0.2%.
In other precious metals on Tuesday:
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April platinum gave back $10.90, or 1.1%, to $998.30 an ounce, trading between $993.20 and $1,015.10.
- Palladium for March delivery fell by $25.40, or 2.3%, to $1,083.90 an ounce, ranging from $1,078 to $1,122.
Last year, platinum fell by 6.8% and palladium sank by 38.3%.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2024
On Tuesday, the U.S. Mint reported total bullion sales gains of 53,000 ounces in American Gold Eagles, 2.711 million ounces in American Silver Eagles, and 20,500 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) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This Week / January | Last Week | October | November | December | 2023 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 35,500 | 2,500 | 97,000 | 40,000 | 15,000 | 924,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 15,000 | 0 | 7,000 | 6,000 | 1,000 | 102,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 26,000 | 0 | 18,000 | 16,000 | 0 | 198,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 35,000 | 5,000 | 30,000 | 55,000 | 15,000 | 675,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 20,500 | -7,000 | 36,500 | 14,000 | 5,500 | 387,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 2,711,000 | 157,000 | 3,938,000 | 2,378,000 | 525,000 | 24,750,000 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12,700 |
