Gold scored another four-month high on Tuesday, extending a string of wins to three sessions.
Gold for April delivery added $4.70, or 0.4%, to close at $1,342.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement price was the highest since gold ended at $1,349.30 an ounce on Oct. 30.
"People are concerned about U.S. economic growth, and that’s why many people have turned bullish," Adam Klopfenstein, a senior market strategist at Archer Financial Services in Chicago, said in a telephone interview according to Bloomberg. "Gold is also finding some support from the ongoing political turmoil" in Ukraine, he said.
The precious metal on the day ranged from a low of $1,331.20 to a high of $1,343.60.
Snapping a two-session winning streak, silver for March delivery slipped 9 cents, or 0.4%, to end at $21.96 an ounce. Silver prices traded as low as $21.67 and as high as $22.03.
In PGM futures on Tuesday:
-
Up for a third session, April platinum added $1.20, or less than 0.1%, to $1,442.60 an ounce. Platinum ranged from $1,425.10 to $1,445.
- Down for the first time in four sessions, palladium for March delivery shed $6.95, or 0.9%, to $736.10 an ounce. It traded between $734.05 and $743.35.
London Fix Precious Metals
Earlier fixed London precious metals moved in the same direction as later New York bullion futures closings. In contrasting the London fix prices from Monday PM to Tuesday PM:
- Gold rose $4.25, or 0.3%, to $1,339 an ounce,
- Silver fell 32 cents, or 1.5%, to $21.73 an ounce,
- Platinum gained $5, or 0.3%, to $1,435 an ounce, and
- Palladium declined $2, or 0.3%, to $739 an ounce
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in February
It looks as if the U.S. Mint was able to build on its inventory of 2014 American Silver Eagles as sales moved up another 346,000 after rising 825,500 on Monday. The two-day total of more than 1.17 million is the strongest since the newly dated coins debuted on Jan. 13, 2014. The Mint has rationed sales of 2014 Silver Eagles since that launch.
Higher gold prices seem to be pressuring sales of the Mint’s gold bullion coins as no gains have been published for the week so far.
Below is a current sales breakdown across all the bureau’s bullion products.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday Sales | Week-To-Date | Sales Last Week | Feb Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 10,000 | 17,000 | 79,500 |
| $25 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 14,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8,000 | 36,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 15,000 | 45,000 | 205,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 11,500 | 53,000 |
| American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins | 346,000 | 1,171,500 | 750,000 | 3,671,500 | 8,446,500 |
