Gold and platinum advanced modestly Tuesday while silver and palladium edged lower.
Gold prices for December delivery gained $1.80, or 0.1%, to settle at $1,766.40 an ounce on the Comex in New York. Gold traded from a low of $1,762.80 to a high of $1,777.90.
"Both gold and silver backed down from their daily highs on some mild profit-taking pressure later in the session," noted Jim Wyckoff in the PM Kitco Metals Roundup. "However, these precious metals continue to hover near their 6.5-month highs as gold and silver bulls maintain their solid near-term technical advantage," added Wyckoff.
In other New York bullion prices:
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Silver for December delivery declined 3.6 cents, or 0.1%, to $33.948 an ounce. Silver traded from $33.800 to $34.545.
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Platinum for October delivery closed at $1,631.80 an ounce, advancing $9.80 or 0.6%. Platinum ranged between $1,617.90 and $1,644.50.
- Palladium for December delivery fell $4.65, or 0.7%, to $640.85 an ounce, trading from $639.00 to $649.55.
London Bullion Prices
Precious metals in London were higher Tuesday. In comparing the most recent London PM Fix prices:
- Gold added $9.00, or 0.5%, to $1,771.50 an ounce,
- Silver gained 28.0 cents, or 0.8%, to $34.01 an ounce,
- Platinum advanced $25.00, or 1.6%, to $1,633.00 an ounce, and
- Palladium climbed $5.00, or 0.8%, to $641.00 an ounce
U.S. Mint Bullion Coins
Solid gains were made Tuesday across United States Mint American Eagle bullion products. Sales of 22-karat American Eagle gold coins rose by 6,500 ounces and 99.9% fine American Eagle silver coins advanced by 100,000 ounces.
On Monday, Silver Eagles had already notched September sales that were the second highest monthly amount for the year. Now, just 1,001 ounces more of the Gold Eagles need to be sold to claim the same achievement.
Below are the latest daily, September and year-to-date bullion sales as published by the U.S. Mint.
| Sales of US Mint American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Coins | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Sales | September Sales | YTD 2012 | |
| $50 American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins | 5,000 | 56,500 | 404,000 |
| $25 American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 61,000 |
| $10 American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins | 2,000 | 4,000 | 62,000 |
| $5 American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins | 10,000 | 30,000 | 245,000 |
| $50 American Gold Buffalo Bullion Coins | 0 | 8,000 | 96,000 |
| American Silver Eagle Bullion Coins | 100,000 | 3,225,000 | 25,765,000 |
| Sales of America the Beautiful 5 Oz. Silver Bullion Coins | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Sales | September Sales | All-Time Total | |
| 2012 El Yunque National Forest 5 oz. Silver Coins | 0 | 1,200 | 17,900 |
| 2012 Chaco Culture National Historical Park 5 oz. Silver Coins | 0 | 0 | 17,000 |
| 2012 Acadia National Park 5 oz. Silver Coins | 0 | 2,900 | 18,000 |
| 2012 Hawai’i Volcanoes 5 oz. Silver Coins | 0 | 10,400 | 10,400 |
| 2011 Olympic National Park 5 oz. Silver Coins | 0 | 0 | 85,900 |
| 2011 Vicksburg National Military Park 5 oz. Silver Coins | 0 | 0 | 39,500 |
| 2011 Chickasaw Park 5 oz. Silver Coins | 0 | 0 | 29,700 |
| TOTAL | 0 | 14,500 | 214,400 |
Sales figures above are in the number of coins sold, not in the amount of ounces sold.
