Gold declined Tuesday, giving back gains from Monday and all of last week. Outflows in gold-backed ETFs were attributed to pressuring the yellow metal.
"The SPDR gold holdings continue to decline, and that’s been a major enemy of any rally attempts here," Reuters quoted Bill O’Neill, partner of commodities investment firm LOGIC Advisors.
Gold for June delivery fell $19.20, or 1.3%, to settle at $1,448.80 an ounce on the Comex in New York. Gold prices ranged from a low of $1,440.40 to a high of $1,470.00. Prices edged up $3.80 on Monday and advanced $10.60 last week.
"There’s a lot of betting against gold going on… Professional money managers have built up a sizeable short position," MarketWatch quoted Ben Traynor, chief economist at BullionVault.
"At the same time, the ETFs continue to lose metal, which makes would-be gold investors circumspect."
In other New York precious metals futures on Tuesday:
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Down for a second day, silver for July delivery declined 14.9 cents, or 0.6%, to close at $23.806 an ounce. Silver traded between $23.40 and $24.04. Silver lost 5.9 cents on Monday.
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July platinum dropped $26.50, or 1.8%, to $1,481.20 an ounce, ranging from $1,477.30 to $1,506.90. The precious metal advanced $6.50 in the previous session.
- Palladium for June delivery plunged $16.50, or 2.4%, to $680.60 an ounce, ranging from $677.70 to $696.00. Palladium gained $3.80 on Monday.
London Fix Precious Metals
London markets were closed Monday for a banking holiday. In comparing Friday PM to Tuesday PM London fixings:
- Gold declined $25.00, or 1.7%, to $1,444.25 an ounce,
- Silver lost 50.0 cents, or 2.1%, to $23.75 an ounce,
- Platinum fell $17.00, or 1.1%, to $1,484.00 an ounce, and
- Palladium dropped $12.00, or 1.7%, to $682.00 an ounce
US Bullion Coin Sales in May
Sales levels for U.S. Mint bullion products were unchanged Tuesday. The following are daily, May and year-to-date bullion coin totals as published by the United States Mint.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Coin Sales | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday Sales | Last Week | Week-To-Date | May Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 38,000 | 3,000 | 13,000 | 447,000 |
| $25 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 3,000 | 0 | 0 | 40,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 4,000 | 0 | 0 | 72,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins* | 0 | 5,000 | 0 | 0 | 300,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 14,500 | 0 | 1,500 | 133,500 |
| American Silver Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 845,000 | 719,500 | 719,500 | 19,029,500 |
*The U.S. Mint has temporarily suspended sales of its smallest American Gold Eagle until inventories are replenished. The Mint ran out of them on April 22.
