Gold prices on Tuesday fell by the biggest amount in several weeks after scoring a three-week high in the previous session.
Gold for June delivery tumbled $27.20, or 2%, to close at $1,300.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices ranged from $1,284.40 to $1,328.40.
"The market was pressured by profit taking from the shorter-term traders and by sell stop orders being triggered in the futures market to accelerate the price downdraft," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, said in a daily note.
"Tuesday’s heavy selling pressure in gold surprised many market watchers. Rising tensions in Ukraine should have supported gold prices on a safe-haven basis, many reckoned," Wyckoff added.
Silver led precious metals declines with the May contact falling 52 cents, or 2.6%, to finish at $19.49 an ounce. Silver prices ranged from $19.22 to $20.
In PGM futures on Tuesday:
-
July platinum shed $22.80, or 1.6%, to $1,444.60 an ounce, trading between $1,430.40 and $1,468.30.
- Palladium for June delivery lost $15.60, or 1.9%, to $795.90 an ounce, ranging from $786.50 to $809.95.
London Fix Precious Metals
Earlier fixed London precious metals declined as well. In contrasting the London fix prices from Monday PM to Tuesday PM:
- Gold dropped $27.75, or 2.1%, to $1,298 an ounce,
- Silver added 3 cents, or 0.1%, to $19.77 an ounce,
- Platinum lost $31, or 2.1%, to $1,435 an ounce, and
- Palladium fell $22, or 2.7%, to $791 an ounce
US Mint Bullion Sales in March
U.S. Mint bullion sales advanced across a wide selection of coins on Tuesday. In ounces, overall sales of gold and silver coins are already higher than totals from last week. The Mint did make a correction on Tuesday, dropping sales of Great Smoky Mountains National Park 5 Oz Bullion Coins by 7,700 after an apparent incorrect increase of 15,100 on Monday.
Below is a sales breakdown for U.S. Mint bullion products with columns offering the number of bullion coins sold on Tuesday, last week, this week so far, last month, the month-to-date, and the year-to-date.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday Sales | Sales Last Week | Sales This Week | March Sales | April Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $100 American Platinum Eagle Bullion Coins | 100 | 300 | 100 | 10,000 | 700 | 10,700 |
| $50 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 1,500 | 3,000 | 5,500 | 16,000 | 17,500 | 118,000 |
| $25 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 1,000 | 18,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 2,000 | 8,000 | 6,000 | 4,000 | 16,000 | 58,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 5,000 | 10,000 | 10,000 | 30,000 | 30,000 | 270,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coins | 1,500 | 3,000 | 1,500 | 12,000 | 11,500 | 77,000 |
| $1 American Silver Eagle Bullion Coins | 282,500 | 1,050,500 | 1,035,000 | 5,354,000 | 2,378,500 | 16,257,500 |
| Great Smoky Mountains National Park 5 Oz Bullion Coins | -7,700 | 0 | 7,400 | 12,400 | 10,000 | 22,400 |
