Gold advanced for a second day in a row Tuesday, supported by weakness in the U.S. dollar but limited by investors’ focus on equities.
Gold futures for April delivery inched up $2.50, or 0.2%, to $1,574.90 an ounce on the Comex in New York. Prices ranged from an intraday low of $1,571.10 an ounce to a high of $1,585.80 an ounce.
"As long as equities keep hitting new highs, investors are not going to look toward gold. The focus is on equities right now and it doesn’t seem to be toward safe havens," Reuters quoted Howard Wen, metals analyst at HSBC.
On Tuesday, the Dow rallied to a new record high and the S&P 500 closed at its highest point since October 2007.
Now logging a third straight session of modest gains, silver for May delivery added 10.8 cents, or 0.4%, to settle at $28.604 an ounce. Silver traded between $28.52 and $29.09.
In PGM futures Tuesday:
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April platinum tacked on $19.50, or 1.3%, to $1,585.70 an ounce, ranging from $1,568.80 to $1,597.40.
- Palladium for June delivery shot up $20.15, or 2.8%, to $734.60 an ounce, trading between $716.50 and $739.05.
London Precious Metals
Precious metals in London also advanced. In contrasting the Monday PM to Tuesday PM London Fix prices:
- Gold edged up $5.50, or 0.3%, to $1,579.75 an ounce,
- Silver climbed 24.0 cents, or 0.8%, to $28.93 an ounce,
- Platinum gained $9.00, or 0.6%, to $1,587.00 an ounce, and
- Palladium added $4.00, or 0.6%, to $728.00 an ounce
US Bullion Coin Sales in March
Excluding five ounce bullion coins, sales advanced Tuesday for every type of United States Mint bullion product. In total, U.S. Mint distributors ordered 4,000 ounces of gold coins and 113,500 ounces of silver coins. The 24-karat Gold Buffalo entered the sales boards for the first time this month. U.S. Mint bullion sales by product follow.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Coin Sales | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday Sales | Last Week | Week-To-Date | March Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 2,500 | 20,000 | 7,000 | 11,000 | 203,500 |
| $25 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 23,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 2,000 | 2,000 | 4,000 | 4,000 | 40,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 5,000 | 5,000 | 5,000 | 5,000 | 185,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coins | 500 | 2,500 | 500 | 500 | 84,500 |
| American Silver Eagle Bullion Coins | 113,500 | 822,000 | 876,500 | 876,500 | 11,743,000 |
| America the Beautiful 5 Oz. Silver Bullion Coin Sales | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday Sales | Last Week | Week-To-Date | March Sales | All-Time Sales | |
| 2012 El Yunque National Forest 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24,000 |
| 2012 Chaco Culture National Historical Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 2,600 | 0 | 600 | 24,400 |
| 2012 Acadia National Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25,400 |
| 2012 Hawai’i Volcanoes 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| 2012 Denali National Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| 2011 Olympic National Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 104,900 |
| 2011 Vicksburg National Military Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 12,400 | 0 | 10,400 | 58,100 |
| 2011 Chickasaw Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 9,300 | 0 | 8,800 | 48,700 |
| TOTAL | 0 | 24,300 | 0 | 19,800 | 325,500 |
All bullion figures above are in the number of coins sold. Calculate total ounces by using the bullion coin’s weight.
