Gold prices on Tuesday advanced for a second straight day on safe-haven demand, opined analysts, while sister metal silver fell for a third consecutive session.
Gold for April delivery tacked on $5.20, or 0.4%, to close at $1,346.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"The Ukraine matter is still a worry among traders and investors, and has moved closer to the front burner of the marketplace," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a report. "The Russian occupation of Crimea is a bullish factor for the safe-haven gold market."
Wyckoff also noted that "chart-based buying was also seen as the near-term technical posture for gold remains bullish."
Gold prices on Tuesday ranged from a low of $1,337.80 to a high of $1,353.
Silver for May delivery finished at $20.82 an ounce, falling 10 cents, or 0.5%. Silver prices traded between $20.67 and $21.33.
In PGM futures prices on Tuesday:
-
April platinum fell $12.60, or 0.9%, to $1,464.60 an ounce, ranging from $1,455 to $1,485.70.
- Palladium for June delivery declined $6.35, or 0.8%, to $770.50 an ounce, trading between $765 and $780.
London Fix Precious Metals
Earlier fixed London precious metals climbed. In contrasting the London fix prices from Monday PM to Tuesday PM:
- Gold gained $2.25, or 0.2%, to $1,346.25 an ounce,
- Silver jumped 26 cents, or 1.2%, to $21.25 an ounce,
- Platinum rose $7, or 0.5%, to $1,483 an ounce, and
- Palladium added $3.50, or 0.5%, to $778 an ounce
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in March
U.S. Mint sales of bullion Platinum Eagles rose by 200 Tuesday after advancing 8,500 on Monday, the first day of issue since 2008. Also higher on the day were sales of bullion Silver Eagles, up 388,500 to score above 1.1 million for the week and surpass last week’s total.
Below is a sales breakdown across U.S. Mint bullion products with columns offering the number of bullion coins sold on Tuesday, last week, in February 2014, the month-to-date, and the year-to-date.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday Sales | Sales Last Week | Week-To-Date | February Sales | March Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $100 American Platinum Eagle Bullion Coins | 200 | N/A | 8,700 | N/A | 8,700 | 8,700 |
| $50 American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 1,000 | 2,000 | 22,000 | 3,000 | 87,500 |
| $25 American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 3,000 | 2,000 | 17,000 |
| $10 American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10,000 | 0 | 38,000 |
| $5 American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 10,000 | 10,000 | 50,000 | 20,000 | 230,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 4,000 | 1,000 | 12,000 | 5,000 | 58,500 |
| $1 American Silver Eagle Bullion Coins | 388,500 | 1,100,000 | 1,124,500 | 3,750,000 | 2,224,500 | 10,749,500 |
