Gold rose slightly Tuesday, ending higher for the first time in seven sessions and edging above a four-month low.
Gold for August delivery turned up 50 cents to $1,244.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold prices traded from a low of $1,240.20 to a high of $1,247.90.
"The gold market seems to be slanted toward the weak side, trading well below $1,250," MarketWatch quoted Jason Rotman, president of Lido Isle Advisors in Newport Beach, Calif.
"We believe gold is really waiting for Friday’s jobs report," he said. "If the jobs report surprises to the upside, we could see more selling in gold down to $1,235, maybe lower. However, if the jobs number comes in lower than expectations, we could see a short covering rally above $1,250."
In other metals, silver is riding a two-day win streak after falling for five consecutive sessions. Silver for July delivery rose 2 cents, or 0.1%, to close at $18.76 an ounce. Silver prices ranged from $18.71 to $18.92.
And in PGMs, platinum fell for a fourth straight session and palladium advanced for a third. In their breakdowns:
-
July platinum shed $3.20, or 0.2%, to $1,433.50 an ounce, trading between $1,428.10 and $1,443.10.
- Palladium for September delivery gained $4.05, or 0.5%, to $836.70 an ounce, ranging from $831.35 to $838.50.
London Fix Precious Metals
Earlier fixed London precious metals fixings were mixed. In contrasting the London bullion fixings from Monday PM to Tuesday PM:
- Gold lost $4.50, or 0.4%, to $1,242.75 an ounce,
- Silver gained 6 cents, or 0.3%, to $18.87 an ounce,
- Platinum fell $6, or 0.4%, to $1,431 an ounce, and
- Palladium added $1, or 0.1%, to $834 an ounce
US Mint Bullion Sales in June
U.S. Mint bullion sales were unchanged Tuesday as of 2:54 p.m. ET. Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of bullion coins sold last week, this week so far, last month, the month so far, and the year-to-date.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday Sales | Sales Last Week | Week-To-Date Sales | May Sales | June Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $100 American Platinum Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 100 | 1,000 | 100 | 12,300 |
| $50 American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 6,500 | 4,000 | 29,000 | 4,000 | 159,500 |
| $25 American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3,000 | 0 | 25,000 |
| $10 American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6,000 | 0 | 68,000 |
| $5 American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 5,000 | 5,000 | 35,000 | 5,000 | 330,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 3,500 | 1,000 | 12,500 | 1,000 | 96,500 |
| $1 American Silver Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 426,500 | 0 | 3,988,500 | 0 | 21,436,500 |
| Great Smoky Mountains National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4,000 | 0 | 27,000 |
| Shenandoah National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 1,700 | 0 | 19,100 | 0 | 19,100 |
It’s surprising how suddenly people stopped buying Silver Eagles.