Gold extended gains into a second session Tuesday. Silver and other precious metals advanced as well.
Gold for December delivery turned up $4.10, or 0.3%, to close at $1,222 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Gold is getting some temporary support from the bombs (airstrikes in Syria)," Frank Lesh, a trader at FuturePath Trading LLC in Chicago, said in a telephone interview according to Bloomberg News. "Physical demand is expected to rise after the big drop in the past few weeks."
Gold prices ranged from an intraday low of $1,214.70 to a high of $1,237. Last week gold declined 1.2% for a third straight week of losses.
Silver for December delivery gained less than a penny to $17.78 an ounce, trading between $17.61 and $17.99. Prices on the previous day hit the lowest level in four years.
In PGM futures on Tuesday:
-
October platinum rose $2.50, or 0.2%, to $1,332.70 an ounce, ranging from $1,326 to $1,348.40.
- Palladium for December delivery jumped $12.65, or 1.6%, to $815.80 an ounce, trading between $801.65 and $819.
London Fix Precious Metals
Earlier fixed London precious metals also gained. In contrasting London bullion Fix prices and the LBMA Silver Price from Monday PM to Tuesday PM:
- Gold rose $8.50, or 0.7%, to $1,222 an ounce,
- Silver added 18 cents, or 1%, to $17.92,
- Platinum gained $8, or 0.6%, at $1,337 an ounce, and
- Palladium edged up $4, or 0.5%, to $811 an ounce
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales
United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged Tuesday as of 2:29 PM ET, but they did jump later in the day on Monday. Gains included:
- 100 ounces in platinum coins,
- 6,200 ounces in gold coins, and
- 660,500 ounces in silver coins.
Bullion American Silver Eagles crossed the 30 million mark, landing at 30,531,000 with sales moving up to the second quickest pace in the coin’s 29-year history. Silver Eagle sales in record year 2013 hurdled 34.9 million through the same time last year. In 2011, now the third quickest year, they were at 30.4 million by Sept. 22, 2011. Sales of this year’s Silver Eagles had been on a record annual pace until severe slowdowns in June, July and a good part of August. Early last week, demand for the coins started to rise sharply.
Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of bullion coins last week, this week so far, this month so far, and the year to date.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday Sales | Last Week | Current Week | August Sales | September Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $100 American Platinum Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 200 | 100 | 700 | 500 | 14,100 |
| $50 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 15,500 | 3,500 | 21,000 | 38,000 | 283,500 |
| $25 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5,000 | 32,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 6,000 | 4,000 | 88,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 5,000 | 2,000 | 25,000 | 17,000 | 427,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 4,000 | 2,500 | 8,000 | 10,500 | 135,500 |
| $1 American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 950,000 | 660,000 | 2,007,500 | 2,420,000 | 30,531,000 |
| Great Smoky Mountains National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 1,500 | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 31,500 |
| Shenandoah National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 500 | 500 | 21,000 |
| Arches National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 500 | 100 | 1,200 | 600 | 21,800 |
| Great Sand Dunes 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 500 | 0 | 7,500 | 3,000 | 10,500 |
