Precious metals futures mixed it up on Tuesday. Gold was near unchanged, falling slightly and not far from an almost 5-1/2-year low. Silver edged higher.
Gold for August delivery dipped 20 cents to settle at $1,096.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold prices ranged from a low of $1,090.70 to a high of $1,098.20.
"Gold is still technically digesting the selloff from last week," MarketWatch quoted Colin Cieszynski, chief market strategist at CMC Markets. "Imagine dropping a ball off a roof, the first bounce is higher, then each subsequent bounce is lower until it essentially rolls flat along the ground," he said. "It’s leveled off near $1,100, waiting for a catalyst to spark a new move and determine the direction."
Gold prices climbed 1% on Monday after tumbling last week by 4.1% to end at their lowest point since Feb. 10, 2010.
Up for a second day in a row, silver for September delivery advanced 4 cents, or 0.3%, to close at $14.64 an ounce. Silver prices traded between $14.51 and $14.68.
In PGM futures on Tuesday:
-
October platinum slipped $2.50, or 0.3%, to $986.40 an ounce, ranging from $976.90 to $987.40.
- Palladium for September delivery advanced $8.50, or 1.4%, to $621.60 an ounce, trading between $611.75 and $623.15.
London Precious Metals Prices
Earlier fixed London gold and silver prices declined. In comparing London bullion prices from Monday PM to Tuesday PM:
- Gold fell $3.80, or 0.4%, to $1,096.20 an ounce.
- Silver lost 15 cents, or 1%, to $14.54 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are displayed on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight after the setting of the prices each day.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in July
United States Mint bullion sales advanced Tuesday with gold coins gaining 5,000 ounces and silver coins jumping 1,223,500 ounces.
In American Silver Eagles, sales topped 1.2 million on Tuesday for a two-day total of more than 2.5 million. The 1.3 million sales haul on Monday was the highest since the 2015-dated Silver Eagle launched on Jan. 12. Prior to Monday, the coins were unavailable for nearly 3 weeks as the U.S. Mint ran out of stock on July 7. Silver Eagle sales for the month at over 5.2 million are the highest since the January total of more than 5.5 million.
American Gold Eagle sales in July now stand at 161,500 ounces, the highest in a month than any since sales of 209,500 ounces in April 2013.
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 | June Sales | July Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins | 3,500 | 37,500 | 17,500 | 62,500 | 140,000 | 338,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 3,000 | 0 | 4,000 | 7,000 | 43,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins | 2,000 | 4,000 | 2,000 | 12,000 | 24,000 | 94,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 20,000 | 5,000 | 85,000 | 120,000 | 510,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 1,000 | 12,500 | 1,500 | 21,000 | 27,000 | 123,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins | 1,221,500 | 0 | 2,545,000 | 4,840,000 | 5,254,000 | 27,040,000 |
| 2015 Homestead 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 35,000 | ||||
| 2015 Kisatchie 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 42,000 | ||||
| 2015 Blue Ridge Parkway 5 Oz Silver Coins | 400 | 0 | 1,400 | 35,000 | 9,000 | 44,000 |
