Gold closed lower for a second straight session as a firmer U.S. dollar provided resistance. The greenback strengthened as Federal Reserve policy makers said in a statement Tuesday that inflation remains subdued and that market conditions have improved, while providing few clues for further monetary easing.
"This is a big disappointment for gold investors who are anticipating additional stimulus," Phil Streible, a commodity broker at RJO Futures in Chicago, said in a telephone interview which was cited on Bloomberg. "People are still favoring the dollar."
Gold prices lost $5.60, or 0.3%, to $1,694.20 an ounce in the April futures contract on the Comex in New York. Gold touched an intraday low of $1,683.30 and reached a high of $1,706.20.
Silver prices for May delivery settled up 16.8 cents, or 0.5%, to $33.581 an ounce, moving between $33.120 and $33.835.
For a second straight day, platinum futures advanced. Platinum prices for April delivery gained $6.10, or 0.4%, to $1,701.80 an ounce, ranging from $1,689.40 to $1,704.60.
"We have been ragingly bullish on platinum this year. We perhaps got in a tiny bit too early, but this is one we have been plugging very strongly," Nic Brown, head of commodity strategy at Natixis said, according to Reuters.
"We think the fundamentals of platinum are much better than gold’s fundamentals," Brown said. Industrial demand for platinum from the European auto market is likely to be lacklustre, but jewellery demand in consuming nations such as Japan and China could help offset that, he added.
Palladium prices for June delivery added $4.60, or 0.7%, to $708.85 an ounce, trading between $697.90 and $710.65.
London Precious Metals
London precious metals prices were mixed Tuesday for a third consecutive day. When comparing the latest London PM fixings, gold declined $7.50 to $1,690.00 an ounce, silver stepped back 19.0 cents to $33.58 an ounce — the same price as futures in New York, platinum added $4.00 to $1,691.00 an ounce, and palladium dipped $3.00 to $701.00 an ounce.
U.S. Mint Bullion Coins
Sales of U.S. Mint bullion coins remained unchanged Tuesday as of 3:53 EDT. The following are the most recent daily, monthly and year-to-date bullion sales figures as published by the U.S. Mint.
| Sales of U.S. Mint American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Coins | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Gains | March Gains | YTD 2012 | |
| American Gold Eagles (1 oz.) | 0 | 20,500 | 125,000 |
| American Gold Eagles (1/2 oz.) | 0 | 0 | 49,000 |
| American Gold Eagles (1/4 oz.) | 0 | 0 | 40,000 |
| American Gold Eagles (1/10 oz.) | 0 | 5,000 | 95,000 |
| American Gold Buffalo Coin (1 oz.) | 0 | 12,000 | 32,500 |
| American Silver Eagles | 0 | 1,065,000 | 8,662,000 |
| Sales of America the Beautiful 5 Oz. Silver Bullion Coins | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Prior Weekly | Weekly Gains | All-Time Total | |
| Olympic National Park 5 oz. Silver Coin | 0 | 300 | 84,900 |
| Vicksburg National Military Park 5 oz. Silver Coin | 500 | 300 | 38,100 |
| Chickasaw Park 5 oz. Silver Coin | 0 | 300 | 28,700 |
| TOTAL | 500 | 900 | 151,700 |
All bullion coin totals in the above tables are in the number of coins sold, not in the amount of ounces.
