Gold and silver prices closed higher Tuesday for the first time since Thursday as safe-haven demand improved following a selloff in U.S. stocks.
Gold for February delivery bounced $12.30, or 1%, to settle at $1,291.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Gold prices ended the U.S. day session solidly higher Tuesday, on more safe-haven demand as the U.S. stock market sold off following some downbeat quarterly earnings reports," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a report. "A sharply lower U.S. dollar index on this day was also positive for the precious metals markets."
Gold prices ranged from a low of $1,272 to a high of $1,297.40. They retreated in the previous session by $13.20, or 1%.
Silver for March delivery advanced 10 cents, or 0.5%, to close at $18.08, trading between $17.41 and $18.22. Silver tumbled 32 cents, or 1.7%, in the prior session.
In PGM futures on Tuesday:
-
April platinum added $9.30, or 0.7%, to $1,264.30 an ounce, ranging from $1,248 to $1,271.30.
- Palladium for March delivery dipped $1.10, or 0.1%, to $780.75 an ounce, trading between $773.20 and $785.
London Fix Precious Metals
Earlier fixed London precious metals advanced. In comparing London bullion Fix prices from Monday PM to Tuesday PM:
- Gold added $7.25, or 0.6%, to $1,288.50 an ounce,
- Silver rose 4 cents, or 0.2%, to $17.87 an ounce,
- Platinum gained $6, or 0.5%, to $1,262 an ounce, and
- Palladium added $6, or 0.8%, to $778 an ounce.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in January
United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged Tuesday as of 3:27 PM ET. Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of bullion coins sold last week, this week so far, in December, last year, and the year to date. Coins with an asterisk (*) have sold out for 2014 with 2015-dated versions yet to be released.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday Sales | Last Week | Current Week | December Sales | 2014 Sales | January / 2015 Sales | |
| $100 American Platinum Eagle Bullion Coins* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16,900 | 0 |
| $50 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 1,000 | 0 | 13,000 | 415,500 | 50,500 |
| $25 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 46,000 | 18,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 6,000 | 118,000 | 36,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 10,000 | 0 | 35,000 | 565,000 | 100,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4,500 | 177,500 | 32,500 |
| $1 American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 1.059M | 367,000 | 2.459M | 44.006M | 5,127,500 |
| Great Smoky Mountains National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33,000 | 0 |
| Shenandoah National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 600 | 0 | 1,100 | 24,400 | 600 |
| Arches National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22,000 | 0 |
| Great Sand Dunes 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4,000 | 22,000 | 0 |
| Everglades 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7,000 | 34,000 | 0 |
