Gold prices climbed for a second straight session on Tuesday and closed at their highest level in two weeks.
Gold for August delivery rose $6.20, or 0.5%, to finish at $1,260.10 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement price was the highest since May 27. Gold prices traded from a low of $1,250.10 to a high of $1,263.80.
"Gold is getting a modest boost [from] inflationary news coming from Europe and China overnight along with a slightly weaker U.S. equity market," MarketWatch quoted Jeffrey Wright, managing director at H.C. Wainwright.
"Economic news is rather light this week in the U.S.; jobless claims on Thursday being the primary data point," he said.
Silver for July delivery added 10 cents, or 0.5%, to settle at $19.17 an ounce. Prices ranged from $18.97 to $19.25 and have ended higher in six of the last seven sessions.
In PGM futures, platinum advanced for a fifth straight session and palladium rose for the eighth time in nine sessions. In their daily breakdowns:
-
July platinum jumped $27.90, or 1.9%, to $1,482.20 an ounce, trading between $1,451.40 and $1,485.80.
- Palladium for September delivery gained $12.95, or 1.5%, to $854.55 an ounce, ranging from $841.05 to $855.65.
Palladium’s settlement price marks a 39-month high according to Bloomberg News. Platinum and palladium have gained on the long mining strike in South Africa and on increased auto demands, opined analysts.
"The strike remains unresolved, and this could rumble on for some time," Bloomberg News quoted Robin Bhar, an analyst at Societe Generale SA in London. "That will gradually tighten up supply. There’s quite a bullish outlook from the demand side" as consumption by car companies increases, he said.
Automakers use the metals in pollution-control devices.
London Fix Precious Metals
Earlier fixed London precious metals were mixed. In contrasting the London bullion fixings from Monday PM to Tuesday PM:
- Gold rose $6, or 0.5%, to $1,259.50 an ounce,
- Silver declined 11 cents, or 0.6%, to $19 an ounce,
- Platinum jumped $29, or 2%, to $1,478 an ounce, and
- Palladium turned up $7, or 0.8%, to $851 an ounce
US Mint Bullion Sales in June
U.S. Mint distributors ordered several different types of bullion coins on Tuesday. Advances included 4,500 ounces in gold coins and 339,500 ounces in silver coins. Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of 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 | Week-To-Date Sales | May Sales | June Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $100 American Platinum Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 500 | 0 | 1,000 | 500 | 12,700 |
| $50 American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins | 2,000 | 10,500 | 6,000 | 29,000 | 16,500 | 172,000 |
| $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 | 5,000 | 10,000 | 5,000 | 35,000 | 15,000 | 340,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coins | 2,000 | 3,500 | 2,000 | 12,500 | 5,500 | 101,000 |
| $1 American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins | 297,000 | 670,000 | 675,000 | 3,988,500 | 1,345,000 | 22,781,500 |
| Great Smoky Mountains National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 500 | 500 | 500 | 4,000 | 1,000 | 28,000 |
| Shenandoah National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 500 | 0 | 19,100 | 500 | 19,600 |
| Arches National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 8,000 | N/A | 13,500 | N/A | 13,500 | 13,500 |
