Precious metals bulls are strong out of the gate to start the new trading month and quarter on Tuesday. Gold advanced for a third session in a row and closed at an 11-week high.
Gold for August delivery tacked on $4.60, or 0.3%, to end at $1,326.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement price is the highest since April 14 when gold ended at $1,327.60 an ounce.
"The dollar weakness is helping gold stay supported at the current levels," Mike Dragosits, a senior commodity strategist at TD Securities in Toronto, said in a telephone interview according to Bloomberg News. "Economic data will determine how dovish the Fed remains, and that will guide gold."
Gold prices ranged from a low of $1,324 to a high of $1,334.90. On Monday, gold ended June 6.1% higher and logged a 3% quarterly gain.
Snapping a three-session losing streak, silver for September delivery climbed 6 cents, or 0.3%, to close at $21.12 an ounce. It traded between $21.05 and $21.28. Silver prices rallied 12.7% last month and gained 6.6% in the second quarter.
PGMs also advanced in their July start. In the daily breakdowns:
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October platinum gained $32.10, or 2.2%, to $1,515 an ounce, trading between $1,483.60 and $1,516.70.
- Palladium for September gained $11.45, or 1.4%, to $854.60 an ounce, ranging from $843.45 to $855.80.
London Fix Precious Metals
London precious metals notched increases as well to kick-start July. When comparing the London bullion fix prices from Monday PM to Tuesday PM:
- Gold rose $12.50, or 1%, to $1,327.50 an ounce,
- Silver added 21 cents, or 1%, to $21.08 an ounce,
- Platinum turned up $17, or 1.1%, to $1,497 an ounce, and
- Palladium rose $5, or 0.6%, to $849 an ounce
US Mint Bullion Sales in July
U.S. Mint bullion sales rose by 1,500 ounces with splits of 1,000 in one-ounce Gold Eagles and 500 in one-ounce Gold Buffalos. Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing 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 | Sales This Week | June Sales | July Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $100 American Platinum Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 700 | 0 | 12,900 |
| $50 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 1,000 | 12,000 | 3,000 | 43,000 | 1,000 | 199,500 |
| $25 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 2,000 | 0 | 27,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 4,000 | 0 | 72,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 10,000 | 5,000 | 35,000 | 0 | 360,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Bullion Gold Coins | 500 | 3,000 | 1,500 | 16,000 | 500 | 112,000 |
| $1 American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 447,000 | 320,000 | 2,692,000 | 0 | 24,128,500 |
| Great Smoky Mountains National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 1,000 | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 29,000 |
| Shenandoah National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 400 | 0 | 900 | 0 | 20,000 |
| Arches National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 3,000 | -800* | 18,500 | 0 | 18,500 |
*On Monday, the U.S Mint reduced sales of Arches silver coins.
