Precious metals split Tuesday with palladium and platinum higher and gold and silver lower. Palladium notched another all-time high. Gold marked an almost two-week low with its fourth loss in five sessions after scoring ten straight sessions gains. Silver, registering a three-week low, also declined for its fourth loss in five sessions.
Gold for February delivery declined $6, or 0.4%, to settle at $1,544.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the weakest since Jan. 2.
"Gold prices are getting dragged down as trade tensions have eased in the short-term and as US earnings season gets off to a great start," Edward Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda, wrote in a Tuesday research note reported by MarketWatch. "The banks are painting a picture that the U.S. consumer remains strong and that should support fresh record highs with U.S. stocks," he said.
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,536.40 to a high of $1,549.50. They lost 0.6% on Monday. Last Tuesday, they ended at $1,574.30 an ounce for their highest settlement since April. 9, 2013.
Silver for March delivery ended down 25.4 cents, or 1.4%, to $17.742 an ounce. The settlement was the lowest since Dec. 23. Silver futures traded between $17.69 and $17.99. They shed 0.6% on Monday. Last Tuesday, they finished at $18.393 an ounce for their best close since Sept. 24.
In other precious metals prices on Tuesday:
-
April platinum added $5.20, or 0.5%, to $987.30 an ounce, ranging between $970.20 and $989.70.
- Palladium for March delivery jumped $44.20, or 2.1%, to a record settlement of $2,123.30 an ounce. Palladium traded between $2,075.20 and $2,126.80.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Monday PM to Tuesday PM:
- Gold declined $4.80, or 0.3%, to $1,545.10 an ounce.
- Silver fell 21.5 cents, or 1.2%, to $17.77 an ounce.
US Mint Bullion Sales
United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged according to data published on the agency’s website. Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of coins sold during varying periods. Products with an asterisk (*) are no longer available.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday / This Week | Last Week | November | December | 2019 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 8,000 | 2,000 | 108,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin* | 0 | 0 | 5,000 | 0 | 30,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 38,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 195,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 5,000 | 1,500 | 61,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 463,000 | 0 | 14,863,500 |
| Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 20,000 | 5,000 | 25,000 |
| San Antonio Missions 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 55,200 |
| War in the Pacific 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 72,500 |
| American Memorial Park 5 Oz Silver Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 80,000 |
| Lowell 5 Oz Silver Coin* | N/A | 80,000 | |||
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin* | N/A | 40,000 | |||
