Gold futures ended modestly lower on Tuesday, with earlier safe-haven advances returned as the U.S. dollar posted gains against most other major currencies.
Gold for August delivery shed $4.90, or 0.4%, to settle at $1,180.90 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"We don’t know what’s happening with Greece, and we don’t know what’s happening with the euro, so it’s about what’s happening to the dollar, and that’s how gold seems to be trading," James Cordier, the founder of Optionsellers.com in Tampa, Florida, said in a telephone interview according to Bloomberg News. "The gold market is going to trade piggy-backing on the dollar until we get more information out of the euro zone."
Gold prices traded between $1,175.40 and $1,187.40. They climbed in the previous session by $6.60 or 0.6%.
Silver for July delivery lost 12 cents, or 0.7%, to settle at $15.97 an ounce. Silver prices ranged from $15.85 to $16.11. On Monday, they rose 26 cents or 1.6%.
In other precious metals futures on Tuesday:
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July platinum declined $8.80, or 0.8%, to $1,079.80 an ounce, trading between $1,078.20 and $1,094.30.
- Palladium for September delivery fell $1.35, or 0.2%, to $732.80 an ounce, ranging from $732.10 to $741.
London Precious Metals Prices
Earlier fixed London precious metals prices ended mixed. In comparing London bullion prices from Monday PM to Tuesday PM:
- Gold fell $3.65, or 0.3%, to $1,177.75 an ounce,
- Silver gained 10 cents, or 0.6%, to $16.03 an ounce,
- Platinum added $7, or 0.6%, $1,084 an ounce, and
- Palladium rose $5, or 0.7%, to $739 an ounce.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in June
United States Mint bullion sales maintained strong advances on Tuesday with gains of 7,000 ounces in gold coins and 326,000 ounces in silver coins.
Two-day gold coin sales this week at 21,500 ounces are already the highest since the week after the 2015-dated versions debuted in January. American Eagle Gold sales at 40,500 ounces through the halfway point in June have nearly doubled their May total of 21,500 ounces.
Two-day silver coin sales this week at 825,000 ounces have another 150,001 ounces to gain to score their highest weekly total since the week after the first 2015-dated American Silver Eagles launched in January. Sales for the month so far at 2.45 million ounces are already 426,500 ounces higher than last month.
Below is a listing of U.S. Mint bullion products that shows the number of coins sold during varying periods. Products with an asterisk (*) are no longer available.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday Sales | Last Week | This Week | May Sales | June Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins | 5,500 | 9,500 | 13,500 | 13,500 | 33,500 | 169,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 1,000 | 3,000 | 1,000 | 33,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 4,000 | 10,000 | 6,000 | 64,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 20,000 | 15,000 | 40,000 | 50,000 | 355,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 1,500 | 3,000 | 5,000 | 9,500 | 11,000 | 86,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins | 326,000 | 650,000 | 825,000 | 2,023,500 | 2,450,000 | 19,396,000 |
| 2015 Homestead 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 35,000 | ||||
| 2015 Kisatchie 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 12,000 | – | 42,000 | ||
