Gold declined for a second consecutive session Tuesday as global stocks steadied from recent losses.
Gold for February delivery fell $12.60, or 1%, to close at $1,250.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold prices traded between $1,248.20 and $1,262.30.
"We are looking more and more at the relationship between the major international stock markets and gold. That seems to be what’s shaping the movement of prices," Reuters quoted Peter Fertig, a consultant at Quantitative Commodity Research.
"Last year institutional investors sold gold significantly, because they expected higher returns on equities," he said. "The precious metals will only profit as an investment vehicle if there is now a reallocation out of stock markets into commodities."
Gold is off 1.1% from Friday when it notched a fifth weekly gain and closed at its highest price in more than two months.
In other precious metals futures on Tuesday:
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Silver for March delivery lost 29 cents, or 1.5%, to $19.50 an ounce after edging up 0.1% on Monday. Silver prices traded between $19.46 and $19.84.
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April platinum shed $11.70, or 0.8%, to $1,409.40 an ounce, ranging from $1,404.60 to $1,424.80.
- Palladium for March delivery declined $6.05, or 0.8%, to $716.50 an ounce, trading between $714.40 and $725.50.
London Fix Precious Metals
London bullion fixings declined for a second straight day. In contrasting the London fix prices from Monday PM to Tuesday PM:
- Gold fell $9.25, or 0.7%, to $1,251.25 an ounce,
- Silver lost 11 cents, or 0.6%, to $19.72 an ounce,
- Platinum dipped $3, or 0.2%, to $1,418 an ounce, and
- Palladium shed $9, or 1.2%, to $722 an ounce
US Mint Bullion Sales in January
U.S. Mint bullion sales increased Tuesday for American Eagle gold and silver coins. Gold Eagles advanced by 2,000 ounces and Silver Eagles rose by 210,000 coins.
Here is a sales breakdown across all United States Mint bullion coins:
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday Sales | Sales This Week | Sales Last Week | 2014 Sales to Jan. 28 | |
| $50 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 1,000 | 1,000 | 5,000 | 62,500 |
| $25 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 12,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 10,000 | 10,000 | 0 | 160,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39,500 |
| American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins | 210,000 | 712,000 | 550,000 | 4,726,000 |
