Gold prices climbed for a fifth straight session on Tuesday, ending near a three-week high as the U.S. dollar continued to slide.
Gold for April delivery tacked on $3.70, or 0.3%, to close at $1,191.40 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement price marks the highest since March 5 when gold ended at $1,196.20 an ounce.
"The market believes that the Fed will not be aggressive about the rate hike, giving a boost to gold," Bloomberg News quoted Alfonso Esparza, a senior currency analyst at Oanda Corp. in Toronto. "Also, the dollar weakness is keeping gold supported."
Gold prices ranged from a low of $1,184.70 to a high of $1,194.50. They have advanced $43.20, or 3.8%, since last ending down one week ago.
Silver for May delivery rose 9 cents, or 0.5%, to close at $16.98 an ounce. Silver prices traded from $16.81 to $17.04. The precious metal on Monday inched up almost a penny.
In PGM futures on Tuesday:
-
April platinum slipped $3, or 0.3%, to $1,141.50 an ounce, ranging from $1,132.20 to $1,149.
- Palladium for June delivery fell $7, or 0.9%, to $763.70 an ounce, trading between $763.05 and $777.
London Precious Metals Prices
Earlier fixed London precious metals were split. In comparing London bullion Fix prices from Monday PM to Tuesday PM:
- Gold added $5.25, or 0.4%, to $1,191.50 an ounce,
- Silver gained 24 cents, or 1.4%, to $16.97 an ounce,
- Platinum fell $9, or 0.8%, to $1,132 an ounce, and
- Palladium declined $10, or 1.3%, to $768 an ounce.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in March
United States Mint bullion sales climbed Tuesday with gold coins rising 4,500 ounces and silver coins advancing 189,000 ounces. The gains in gold were the first of the week. Two-day silver sales at 741,500 ounces have already passed the 637,000 ounces sold last week.
This listing of U.S. Mint bullion products show the number of coins sold during varying periods.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday Sales | Last Week | Current Week | February Sales | March Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins | 3,500 | 9,000 | 3,500 | 12,500 | 29,000 | 93,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 4,000 | 24,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins | 2,000 | 4,000 | 2,000 | 0 | 8,000 | 44,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 15,000 | 0 | 50,000 | 55,000 | 220,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 500 | 4,500 | 500 | 12,000 | 8,500 | 55,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins | 181,000 | 637,000 | 715,000 | 3,022,000 | 2,783,000 | 11,335,000 |
| 2015 Homestead 5 Oz Silver Coins | 1,600 | 0 | 5,300 | 20,000 | 13,300 | 33,300 |
