Gold and silver prices rebounded 0.7% Tuesday after gold settled in the previous session to its lowest level in more than two weeks and silver plummeted by 3.5%. Gains were attributed to a weakened U.S. dollar.
"News of some stability in Europe is pushing the dollar lower," Sterling Smith, a market analyst at Country Hedging in St. Paul, Minnesota, said in a telephone interview that was cited on Bloomberg. "People are willing to consider riskier assets today."
Gold prices for June delivery went up $11.20 to $1,643.80 an ounce on the Comex in New York. Gold’s intraday low was $1,634.60 while its high reached $1,650.10.
Silver prices for May delivery advanced 21.5 cents to $30.746 an ounce. The white metal ranged from $30.635 to $31.110. Jim Wyckoff of Kitco News writes about the near-term technical aspects for silver in the Tuesday Kitco Metals Roundup:
"Prices Monday hit a three-month low and also saw a bearish downside ‘breakout’ from a sideways and choppy trading range. The silver bears still have the near-term technical advantage. Bulls’ next upside price breakout objective is closing prices above solid technical resistance at $32.58 an ounce.
The next downside price breakout objective for the bears is closing prices below major psychological support at $30.00. First resistance is seen at Tuesday’s high of $31.11 and then at $31.50. Next support is seen at Tuesday’s low of $30.63 and then at this week’s low of $30.45. Wyckoff’s Market Rating: 3.5."
PGM futures bucked the trend, moving opposite of gold and silver. Platinum prices for July delivery declined $8.20, or 0.5%, to $1,548.10 an ounce, trading between $1,545.00 and $1,562.20. Palladium prices for June delivery settled down $5.10, or 0.8%, to $665.80 an ounce, ranging from $665.45 to $679.00.
London Precious Metal
London precious metals were mixed. When comparing the most recent London PM fixings:
- Gold added $20.50, or 1.3%, to $1,649.50 an ounce,
- Silver prices fell 30.0 cents, or 1.0%, to $30.86 an ounce,
- Platinum was unchanged at $1,553.00 an ounce, and
- Palladium gained $8.00, or 1.2%, to $674.00 an ounce
U.S. Mint Bullion Coins
Sales of U.S. Mint bullion coins were unchanged Tuesday after semi-decent gains on Monday. The following are the available daily, April and year-to-date bullion coin sales totals as provided by the U.S. Mint.
| U.S. Mint American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Coin Sales | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Gains | April Gains | YTD 2012 | |
| American Gold Eagle (1 oz.) | 0 | 16,000 | 178,000 |
| American Gold Eagle (1/2 oz.) | 0 | 0 | 51,000 |
| American Gold Eagle (1/4 oz.) | 0 | 2,000 | 42,000 |
| American Gold Eagle (1/10 oz.) | 0 | 5,000 | 135,000 |
| American Gold Buffalo Coin (1 oz.) | 0 | 9,000 | 55,500 |
| American Silver Eagle | 0 | 1,280,000 | 11,419,000 |
| America the Beautiful 5 Oz. Silver Bullion Coin Sales | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Prior Weekly | Weekly Gains | All-Time Total | |
| Olympic National Park 5 oz. Silver Coins | 0 | 0 | 85,100 |
| Vicksburg National Military Park 5 oz. Silver Coins | 0 | 0 | 38,300 |
| Chickasaw Park 5 oz. Silver Coins | 0 | 0 | 28,900 |
| TOTAL | 0 | 0 | 152,300 |
All bullion coin sales in the above tables are in number of coins, not in the amount of ounces sold. The U.S. Mint last updated five ounce bullion silver coins sold on Monday, April 9.
