Gold prices moved sharply lower Tuesday, giving back nearly half of the prior session’s gains and returning to below $1,200 an ounce.
Gold for February delivery dropped $18.70, or 1.5%, to end at $1,199.40 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold prices ranged from a low of $1,191.40 to a high of $1,212.60.
In the previous session, prices rallied $42.60, or 3.6%, for the biggest gain since September 2013 and settled at a five-week high. Gains on Monday came as the U.S. dollar weakened and crude oil prices rebounded, opposite of what happened on Tuesday.
"The dollar’s strength is gold’s biggest enemy," Fain Shaffer, the president of Infinity Trading Corp. in Indianapolis, said in a telephone interview according to Bloomberg News. "Investors are wondering whether yesterday’s rally in oil prices was a dead-cat bounce."
Silver for March delivery fell 24 cents, or 1.4%, to $16.46 an ounce. Prices ranged from $16.07 to $16.54. Silver on Monday soared $1.14 or 7.3%.
In PGM futures prices:
-
January platinum lost $24.10, or 1.9%, to $1,217.50 an ounce, trading between $1,212.50 and $1,239.60.
- Palladium for March delivery declined $4.35, or 0.5%, to $803.75 an ounce, ranging from $796.20 to $811.95.
London Fix Precious Metals
Earlier fixed London precious metals moved mostly higher. In contrasting London bullion Fix prices from Monday PM to Tuesday PM:
- Gold eked up $1, or less than 0.1%, to $1,195 an ounce,
- Silver gained 43 cents, or 2.7%, to $16.16 an ounce,
- Platinum added $12, or 1%, to $1,220 an ounce, and
- Palladium was unchanged at $804 an ounce
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in December
United States Mint bullion sales on Tuesday included 139,500 ounces in American Silver Eagles and 15,000 ounces in America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Bullion Coins. Silver Eagles are now 465,501 away from hitting a new annual sales record.
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, last month, and the year to date. Coins with an asterisk (*) have sold out.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday Sales | Last Week | Current Week / Month | November Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $100 American Platinum Eagle Bullion Coins* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16,700 |
| $50 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 7,500 | 12,000 | 49,000 | 414,500 |
| $25 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 3,000 | 0 | 8,000 | 46,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 4,000 | 12,000 | 116,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 10,000 | 15,000 | 40,000 | 545,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 1,500 | 500 | 12,500 | 173,500 |
| $1 American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins | 139,500 | 736,500 | 662,500 | 3,426,000 | 42,209,500 |
| Great Smoky Mountains National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33,000 |
| Shenandoah National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 300 | 0 | 300 | 900 | 23,600 |
| Arches National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22,000 |
| Great Sand Dunes 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 1,200 | 0 | 1,200 | 1,700 | 19,100 |
| Everglades 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 1,500 | 0 | 7,000 | 27,000 | 34,000 |
