Gold prices ended lower for a fifth consecutive session on Tuesday and marked another seven-week low.
Gold for June delivery shed $3.80, or 0.3%, to close at $1,280 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the lowest since gold ended at $1,274.70 an ounce on Feb. 10.
"With gold’s strong first quarter, it appears that there is some short-term profit taking going on," MarketWatch quoted Richard Gotterer, managing director and senior financial advisor at Wescott Financial Advisory Group. But "several scenarios could easily bring a new ‘pop’ to gold prices," he said, including escalations in the relations between North and South Korea, Russia and Crimea.
Gold prices ranged from an intraday low of $1,277.40 to a high of $1,288.40. On Monday, gold closed a robust first quarter with prices up 6.8% from the end of 2013.
"The near-term sentiment for gold appears negative," Howard Wen, an analyst at HSBC Securities (USA) Inc., wrote in a note according to Bloomberg News. The metal’s recent decline "was largely explained by the combination of receding geopolitical tensions and the Fed’s guidance for higher interest rates."
Silver for May delivery fell 6 cents, or 0.3%, to settle at $19.69 an ounce. The precious metal traded between $19.64 and $19.91.
Platinum and palladium each advanced 0.6%. In their breakdowns:
-
July platinum gained $8.80 to $1,429.60 an ounce, ranging from $1,415.50 and $1,437.20.
- Palladium for June delivery climbed $4.85 to $781.95 an ounce, trading between $767 and $782.70.
London Fix Precious Metals
Earlier fixed London precious metals moved in the same direction as New York bullion futures. In contrasting the London fix prices from Monday PM to Tuesday PM:
- Gold slipped $8, or 0.6%, to $1,283.75 an ounce,
- Silver dipped 17 cents, or 0.9%, to $19.80 an ounce,
- Platinum gained $11, or 0.8%, to $1,429 an ounce, and
- Palladium edged up 50 cents, or less than 0.1%, to $778.50 an ounce
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in March
Sales totals for U.S. Mint bullion coins were unchanged as of 3:27 p.m. ET, though the bureau on Tuesday did raise totals for sales through to the end of March. Notably, bullion Silver Eagle sales went up another 878,000 for a March total of 5,354,000 — the fourth highest month ever and the strongest tally since January 2013’s all-time monthly record of 7,498,000 coins.
Below is a sales breakdown across U.S. Mint bullion products with columns offering the number of bullion coins sold last week, this week, last month and the year-to-date which is also the first quarter.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday Sales | Sales Last Week | Sales This Week | March Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $100 American Platinum Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 500 | 500 | 10,000 | 10,000 |
| $50 American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 3,000 | 1,000 | 16,000 | 100,500 |
| $25 American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 17,000 |
| $10 American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4,000 | 42,000 |
| $5 American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 5,000 | 0 | 30,000 | 240,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 12,000 | 65,500 |
| $1 American Silver Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 1,192,500 | 878,000 | 5,354,000 | 13,879,000 |
| Great Smoky Mountains National Park 5 Oz Bullion Coins | 0 | 1,700 | 200 | 12,400 | 12,400 |
