Gold futures fell Tuesday for their second straight session decline. Losses were modest when considered against the bearish backdrop of a strong U.S. dollar and rallying stock market.
Gold for June delivery shed $7.70, or 0.6%, to finish at $1,378.90 an ounce on the Comex in New York. Prices traded from an intraday low of $1,372.10 to a high of $1,401.00. Gold prices surged 1.6% last week.
"Talk about conflicting signals on options expiry day!" MarketWatch quoted Gene Arensberg, editor of the Got Gold Report. "Gold futures have oversold the physical bullion markets pushing up premiums for bullion and coins. At the same time, we see bearish pressure from a strong equities rally, pushing up the U.S. dollar, better-than-expected economic data and gold-price forecast reductions from some banks adding to selling pressure."
Also lower for a second session, silver for July delivery fell 30.3 cents, or 1.4%, to close at $22.193 an ounce. The precious metal ranged from $22.11 to $22.71. Silver advanced 0.6% last week.
PGM’s snapped a two-session losing streak. In their daily breakdowns:
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July platinum gained $9.90, or 0.7%, to $1,461.80 an ounce, trading between $1,445.20 and $1,471.00. Platinum fell 1.1% last week.
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Palladium for June delivery soared $30.55, or 4.2%, to $757.00 an ounce, ranging from $726.65 to $764.90. Palladium sank 1.9% last week.
London Fix Precious Metals
London precious metals fixings were mixed. In contrasting the Friday PM to Tuesday PM London Fix prices:
- Gold fell $13.75, or 1.0%, to $1,376.50 an ounce,
- Silver slipped 2.0 cents, or 0.1%, to $22.36 an ounce,
- Platinum declined $5.00, or 0.3%, to $1,450.00 an ounce, and
- Palladium gained $4.00, or 0.5%, to $733.00 an ounce
Gold was the only gainer in London last week, rising 1.6%. Losses tallied to 0.6% for silver and 1.0% for platinum and palladium.
US Bullion Coin Sales in May
The U.S. Mint published sales increases for each of its one-ounce bullion coins. Daily, May and year-to-date bullion coin totals follow.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Coin Sales | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday Sales | Last Week | Week-To-Date | May Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 2,000 | 7,000 | 2,000 | 52,000 | 486,000 |
| $25 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 42,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4,000 | 76,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 300,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coins | 1,500 | 2,000 | 1,500 | 12,500 | 144,500 |
| White Mountain 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 10,600 | 0 | 23,300 | 23,300 |
| American Eagle Silver Coins | 25,000 | 866,500 | 25,000 | 2,625,000 | 20,935,000 |
Figures above are in the number of coins sold, not in ounces.
