Gold, silver and platinum ended lower for a third consecutive session Tuesday while palladium extended its winning streak to two sessions.
Gold for April delivery settled down $3.50, or 0.3%, to $1,197.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Trading volume was thin as gold moved between $1,190 and $1,204.40.
"Gold prices ended the U.S. day session slightly lower and right about where the trading day began" Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a report. "Testimony from Fed Chair Janet Yellen in front of the U.S. Senate had no lasting effect on precious metals prices. The stronger U.S. dollar continues to be a bearish underlying factor working against the precious metals bulls."
Yellen said the Fed is in no hurry to raise rates, noting that there had been "important progress" toward employment, but added:
"Despite this improvement, too many Americans remain unemployed or underemployed, wage growth is still sluggish, and inflation remains well below our longer-run objective."
Silver for March delivery declined 7 cents, or 0.4%, to $16.19 an ounce, trading between $16.04 and $16.46.
In PGM futures on Tuesday:
-
April platinum was near flat, shedding 30 cents to close at $1,162.60 an ounce. Prices ranged from $1,155 to $1,169.
- Palladium for March delivery added $4.05, or 0.5%, to $790 an ounce, trading between $782.75 and $798.10.
London Fix Precious Metals
Earlier fixed London precious metals were split. In comparing London bullion Fix prices from Monday PM to Tuesday PM:
- Gold declined $12, or 1%, to $1,192.50 an ounce,
- Silver gained 12 cents, or 0.7%, to $16.32 an ounce,
- Platinum fell $3, or 0.3%, to $1,160 an ounce, and
- Palladium added $5, or 0.6%, to $788 an ounce.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in February
United States Mint bullion coins advanced Tuesday. Sales included 2,000 ounces in gold coins and 266,000 ounces in silver coins. Gains happened across all the Mint’s major bullion products, as highlighted in the table below.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday Sales | Last Week | Current Week | January Sales | February Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 1,500 | 4,500 | 3,500 | 51,500 | 12,500 | 64,000 |
| $25 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18,000 | 2,000 | 20,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36,000 | 0 | 36,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 5,000 | 10,000 | 115,000 | 50,000 | 165,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Bullion Gold Coins | 500 | 3,000 | 3,000 | 34,500 | 12,000 | 46,500 |
| $1 American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins | 253,500 | 720,000 | 718,500 | 5,530,000 | 2,963,000 | 8,493,000 |
| 2015 Homestead 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 2,500 | 14,500 | 5,000 | N/A | 19,500 | 19,500 |
