Gold and silver ended lower for the first time in four sessions Tuesday, each giving back 0.5% as investors turned to riskier bets with U.S. stocks rebounding.
In bullion coin news, the United States Mint told its authorized dealers that next week’s allocation of new 2014 American Eagle silver coins will fall greatly from the nearly 3.6 million offered this week. More on that later…
First, after hitting a four-week high in the prior session, gold for February delivery settled down $5.70 to $1,245.40 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold prices traded from a low of $1,241.10 to a high of $1,254.90.
"There is definitely negative correlation between gold and equities. As of right now, it looks like it is going to continue," Reuters quoted Adam Sarhan, chief executive of New York-based Sarhan Capital.
The Dow, S&P and Nasdaq registered solid gains Tuesday after each dropped by more than 1% on Monday. Gold was also pressured by a stronger U.S. dollar. The greenback and stocks climbed after a report from the Commerce Department showed better-than-expected U.S. retail sales in December.
In rounding out precious metals futures on Tuesday:
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Silver for March delivery declined 10 cents to $20.28 an ounce, ranging from $20.13 to $20.67.
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April platinum fell $10.10, or 0.7%, to $1,433.80 an ounce, trading between $1,424.60 and $1,447.50.
- Palladium for March delivery dipped $1.10, or 0.2%, to $738.90 an ounce, ranging from $735.05 to $742.50.
London Fix Precious Metals
London precious metals fixings divided on the day with silver and gold higher and palladium and platinum lower. In contrasting the London fix prices from Monday PM to Tuesday PM:
- Gold added $3.50, or 0.3%, to $1,251.50 an ounce,
- Silver rose 18 cents, or 0.9%, to $20.27 an ounce,
- Platinum fell $3, or 0.2%, to $1,433 an ounce, and
- Palladium gained $3, or 0.4%, to $737 an ounce
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in January
United States Mint coin sales on Tuesday rose across all available bullion products.
The U.S. Mint introduced its 2014-dated American Eagle silver coins on Monday with first-day sales totaling 3,180,500. With Tuesday’s added sales of 191,000 coins, this week’s remaining allocation stands at 203,500 coins.
Earlier in the day, the Mint sent a memo to its authorized dealers letting them know that next week’s Silver Eagle allocation total is expected to fall within 500,000 to 600,000 coins as it begins the process of "slowly building weekly inventories." The Mint had pre-warned dealers of "much lower" allocation quantities for next week, but the sheer drop is still a surprise. This coin news article offers background on why Silver Eagle sales are limited.
The following table offers the daily increases, the overall totals for the month through Jan. 14 and the December totals.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Sales | January 2014 Sales | December 2013 Sales | |
| American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 4,000 | 67,000 | 56,000 |
| American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coins | 500 | 33,000 | 7,000 |
| American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins | 191,000 | 3,371,500 | 1,200,000 |
what happen if mint use all inventory silver ?
Since silver is so scarce, price is going down. Go figure.
‘Produce ASE coins to meet demand’ is/was the law. But why be bothered by such encumbrances?