Precious metals declined on Tuesday after a report showed U.S. inflation increased in October for the first time in three months. Gold dropped to a more than 5.7-year low and silver finished at an almost 12-week low. Platinum and palladium also posted losses.
Gold for December delivery fell $15, or 1.4%, to settle at $1,068.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the lowest since Feb. 8, 2010 when prices ended at $1,066.20 an ounce.
U.S. consumer inflation grew 0.2% in October, while core inflation over the past year continued at 1.9%. Gold is traditionally purchased as a hedge against rising inflation but the data was in line with expectations, keeping prospects alive for a rate hike in December.
"If inflation starts picking up, the Fed will be feeling a lot more stable with their future rate hike approach," Ava Trade analyst Naeem Aslam said earlier Tuesday, according to Reuters. "The U.S. rate hike is still the major denominator for the gold price."
Gold prices on the day ranged from a low of $1,064.40 to a high of $1,085.10. They moved up 0.3% on Monday, their first gain in four sessions.
Lower for the eleventh time in twelve sessions, silver for December delivery dropped a nickel, or 0.4%, to $14.17 an ounce. The settlement was the weakest since Aug. 26 when prices closed at $14.04 an ounce. Silver prices ranged from $14.08 to $14.25. They edged up on Monday by 0.1%.
In PGM futures on Tuesday:
-
January platinum shed $10.50, or 1.2%, to $855 an ounce, trading between $850.70 and $874.50.
- Palladium for December delivery fell $5.05, or 0.9%, to $546.50 an ounce, ranging from $536.85 to $559.65.
London Precious Metals Prices
Earlier fixed London gold and silver prices also declined. In comparing their prices from Monday PM to Tuesday PM:
- Gold lost $5.55, or 0.5%, to $1,079.20 an ounce.
- Silver fell 11 cents, or 0.8%, to $14.25 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales
United States Mint bullion sales logged another strong day with gold coins gaining 11,000 ounces and silver coins rising 188,000 ounces.
This week’s two-day gold sales at 27,500 ounces are approaching last week’s haul of 29,000 ounces, the most in nearly three months. Also of note, another 2015-dated Gold Eagle sold out Tuesday. On Friday, the U.S. Mint announced that its one-quarter ounce size was no longer available. On Tuesday, the agency said its one-tenth ounce size sold out.
The U.S. Mint limited Silver Eagle sales this week to 900,000 coins. Buyers have now claimed 94.6% of them, leaving 49,000 left for the week. Sales at 42,880,500 for the year are on a record pace, up 6.2% from the same time in 2014. Last year when Silver Eagle sales ended at an annual record of just over 44 million, the bullion coins by Nov. 17, 2014 had posted sales of 40,393,000.
Below is a listing of U.S. Mint bullion products with 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 | Oct Sales | Nov Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins | 5,500 | 21,000 | 15,000 | 26,000 | 40,500 | 586,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 2,000 | 1,000 | 3,000 | 4,000 | 4,000 | 71,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins* | N/A | 10,000 | N/A | 4,000 | 12,000 | 158,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins* | 25,000 | 15,000 | 55,000 | 50,000 | 100,000 | 980000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins* | 2,000 | 3,500 | 5,500 | 10,500 | 13,500 | 194,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins | 188,000 | 1,107,500 | 851,000 | 3,788,000 | 3,038,000 | 42,880,500 |
| 2015 Homestead 5 Oz Silver Coins* | N/A | 35,000 | ||||
| 2015 Kisatchie 5 Oz Silver Coins* | 42,000 | |||||
| 2015 Blue Ridge Parkway 5 Oz Silver Coins* | 45,000 | |||||
| 2015 Bombay Hook 5 Oz Silver Coins* | 45,000 | |||||
