Gold declined to a near four-week low Tuesday after climbing in the previous session to above $1,600 for the first time in a week.
Gold for June delivery fell $25.00, or 1.6%, to settle at $1,575.90 an ounce on the Comex in New York. The settlement prices was the lowest since March 7. Intraday prices ranged between $1,574.00 and $1,604.30.
"Risk appetite is continuing to pressurize gold," MarketWatch quoted Mark O’Byrne, executive director at bullion dealer GoldCore, but the metal’s fundamentals remain sound and "smart money will continue to buy on the dip."
Silver led declines among precious metals, extending its losing streak to five sessions. Silver for May delivery dived 69.6 cents, or 2.5%, to close at $27.248 an ounce. The white metal traded between $27.15 and $28.14.
PGMs were lower as well:
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July platinum lost $24.60, or 1.5%, to $1,574.20 an ounce, ranging from $1,572.50 to $1,598.40. Platinum advanced $24.20 in the prior session.
- Palladium for June delivery declined $14.55, or 1.9%, to $769.40 an ounce, trading between $766.20 and $782.55. It remains slightly higher on the week with the previous day’s gain of $15.70 taken into account.
London Bullion Prices
London markets reopened Tuesday after shutting down for Easter holiday. When comparing the Thursday PM to Tuesday PM London fixings:
- Gold declined $14.75, or 0.9%, to $1,583.50 an ounce,
- Silver fell 68.0 cents, or 2.4%, to $27.96 an ounce,
- Platinum added $3.00, or 0.2%, to $1,579.00 an ounce, and
- Palladium rose $3.00, or 0.4%, to $773.00 an ounce
US Bullion Coin Sales in April
U.S. Mint bullion sales were limited to gold coins. In total, American Gold Eagles advanced by 6,000 ounces and American Gold Buffalos added 500.
Sales of the bureau’s Silver Eagles were muted after jumping 814,000 on Monday and to a year-to-date milestone of more than 15 million. The level had never been hit by April 1. (Read about March sales of Silver Eagles.)
The following are April and year-to-date bullion coin totals as reported by the U.S. Mint.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Coin Sales | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday Sales | Last Week | Week-To-Date / April Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle Gold Coins | 5,000 | 13,500 | 6,500 | 253,000 |
| $25 American Eagle Gold Coins | 1,000 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 27,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Gold Coins | 0 | 4,000 | 0 | 46,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Gold Coins | 5,000 | 15,000 | 10,000 | 225,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Gold Coins | 500 | 1,000 | 500 | 95,500 |
| American Silver Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 918,500 | 812,000 | 15,035,000 |
All bullion figures above are in the number of coins sold. Calculate total ounces by using the bullion coin’s weight.
U.S. Mint authorized purchasers have claimed all of the available America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Bullion Coins. The U.S. Mint has not yet released any of the 2013-dated versions.
So with silver under $28, when is the mint reducing the silver coins prices? IN September when silver was at $34, there was no issue in increasing the price of silver coins. Why does it take so long to reduce prices?
Saw that the San Francisco mint has trays of thousands of silver eagle blanks ready to strike. All probably bought at the old prices probably above $30. If they dropped the price bet they would be selling at a loss. Bet that is why they are not selling the 2013 5 oz quarters also. Unless they hedged their inventory, they are probably waiting for silver prices to go up. Would not hold my breath waiting for silver eagle or 5 oz quarter bullion prices to drop.