Gold was little changed on Tuesday, rising a smidgen as many investors kept to the sidelines ahead of the Fed’s policy statement release on Wednesday.
Gold for December delivery added a dime to finish at $1,229.40 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"There were some stops triggered once we breached yesterday’s low, but China walked in and pushed up gold," Reuters quoted a Hong Kong trader. "People are nervous ahead of the FOMC and big position changes are unlikely. For the moment, I think we will hold between $1,220 and $1,240."
Trading volume increased from the prior session but was still lighter than typical October sessions. Gold prices ranged from a low of $1,222.20 to a high of $1,235.50.
Silver for December delivery gained 7 cents, or 0.4%, to close at $17.23 an ounce, Silver traded between $17.06 and $17.40.
In PGM futures on Tuesday:
-
January platinum rose $11.80, or 0.9%, to $1,266.30 an ounce, ranging from $1,251.50 to $1,273.
- Palladium for December delivery turned up $6.20, or 0.8%, to $793.35 an ounce, trading between $780.05 and $801.95.
London Fix Precious Metals
In earlier fixed London precious metals, gold and silver were little moved to unchanged. In contrasting London bullion Fix prices from Monday PM to Tuesday PM:
- Gold added 75 cents to $1,229.50 an ounce,
- Silver was unchanged at $17.18 an ounce,
- Platinum gained $12, or 1%, to $1,265 an ounce, and
- Palladium rose $4, or 0.5%, to $792 an ounce
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in October
Sales advanced Tuesday for United States Mint bullion coins, and American Eagles for the month moved past totals from the prior month.
That actually happened on Monday for American Gold Eagles. Now with October sales of 59,500 ounces with today’s addition of 1,000 ounces, the month is the strongest since January.
American Silver Eagles climbed 250,000 on the day, lifting their total for October to 4.365 million coins and above the 4.14 million coins in September. The tally is the strongest since March.
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, in October, and the year to date.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday Sales | Last Week | Current Week | September Sales | October Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $100 American Platinum Eagle Bullion Coins | N/A* | 2,700 | 400 | 16,700 | ||
| $50 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 1,000 | 11,500 | 4,000 | 50,500 | 50,500 | 346,500 |
| $25 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 1,000 | 0 | 6,000 | 6,000 | 38,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8,000 | 8,000 | 100,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 10,000 | 0 | 30,000 | 40,000 | 480,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 3,500 | 500 | 14,500 | 21,000 | 160,500 |
| $1 American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins | 250,000 | 840,000 | 425,000 | 4,140,000 | 4,365,000 | 36,616,000 |
| Great Smoky Mountains National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3,500 | 0 | 33,000 |
| Shenandoah National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 400 | 0 | 1,000 | 400 | 21,900 |
| Arches National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 800 | 0 | 22,000 |
| Great Sand Dunes 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 1,400 | 0 | 4,500 | 4,200 | 16,200 |
*The U.S. Mint stopped selling bullion Platinum Eagles on Oct. 1. The agency will begin selling 2015-dated issues in early January.
