Gold edged 70.0 cents lower Tuesday following two straight daily gains and on the heels of Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s speech suggesting the central bank was not in any hurry to end its accommodating monetary policy. Pressuring gold was a rebounding U.S. dollar. Investors were also seen taking profits.
April gold prices closed at $1,684.90 an ounce on the Comex in New York, trading between an intraday low of $1,679.50 and a high of $1,696.90.
"The prospect of further injections of liquidity by the US Federal Reserve is unequivocally positive for gold, for this makes the U.S. dollar less attractive," analysts at Commerzbank said in a note to clients, according to MarketWatch. "What is more, real interest rates remain negative. Several groups of investors immediately took advantage of Bernanke’s remarks to purchase gold."
Silver prices for May delivery dipped 13.4 cents, or 0.4%, to $32.616 an ounce, moving between $32.575 and $33.190.
Palladium prices for June delivery declined $5.75, or 0.9%, to $663.00 an ounce, ranging from $658.15 to $674.05.
Platinum bucked the trend of other precious metals. Platinum prices for April delivery advanced $10.80, or 0.7%, to $1,657.50 an ounce, trading between $1,646.40 and $1,667.90.
London Precious Metals
London precious metals were higher across the board. When comparing the most recent London PM fixings:
- Gold added $11.75, or 0.7%, to $1,692.00 an ounce,
- Silver advanced 78.0 cents, or 2.4%, to $33.01 an ounce,
- Platinum rose $23.00, or 1.4%, to $1,662.00 an ounce, and
- Palladium gained $3.00, or 0.5%, to $667.00 an ounce
U.S. Mint Bullion Coins
Sales of U.S. Mint bullion coins were lackluster Tuesday. The U.S. Mint published gains for American Silver Eagles, but no other bullion products advanced. And although the 99.9% fine silver coins rose a modest 25,000, the pick-up was enough to lift their year-to-date sales over the 10 million milestone. The level was achieved in the first quarter of a year only one time previous in the 26-year history of the series, and that was accomplished in record-breaking 2012.
The following are the most recent daily, weekly, monthly and year-to-date bullion coin totals as provided 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 | 39,500 | 144,000 |
| American Gold Eagles (1/2 oz.) | 0 | 2,000 | 51,000 |
| American Gold Eagles (1/4 oz.) | 0 | 0 | 40,000 |
| American Gold Eagles (1/10 oz.) | 0 | 30,000 | 120,000 |
| American Gold Buffalo Coin (1 oz.) | 0 | 23,000 | 43,500 |
| American Silver Eagles | 25,000 | 2,412,000 | 10,009,000 |
| Sales of America the Beautiful 5 Oz. Bullion Silver Coins | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Prior Weekly | Weekly Gains | All-Time Total | |
| Olympic National Park 5 oz. Silver Coins | 0 | 200 | 85,100 |
| Vicksburg National Military Park 5 oz. Silver Coins | 0 | 200 | 38,300 |
| Chickasaw Park 5 oz. Silver Coins | 0 | 0 | 28,700 |
| TOTAL | 0 | 400 | 151,700 |
All bullion sales in the above tables are in number of coins sold, not in the amount of ounces sold. The U.S. Mint has not sold five ounce bullion silver coins since Monday, March 26.
