Precious metals closed lower for a second straight session Tuesday. Gold sliced early losses in half, but still settled at its lowest price of the month.
In U.S. Mint bullion products, gold coins scored their biggest daily gain in a month while silver coins climbed the most in just over a week.
Returning to precious metals, gold for June delivery fell $6.70, or 0.6%, to close at $1,192.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement is the lowest since March 31 when prices ended at $1,183.20 an ounce.
"The sentiment in the gold sector is so bearish that even the recent drop in oil, which is a huge benefit to the mining industry, has been ignored," MarketWatch quoted Ken Ford, president of Warwick Valley Financial Advisors.
"Recent data shows hedge funds are now shorting gold at the highest level since 2006," he said. But "as a contrarian, gold could be setting up for another multi-year run to the upside once gold breaks out of this two-year ‘basing pattern’."
Gold traded between $1,183.50 and $1,201.30. On Monday, the precious metal declined $5.30, or 0.4%.
Silver for May delivery shed 13 cents, or 0.8%, to close at $16.16 an ounce. Prices ranged from $15.96 to $16.34. Silver in the prior session fell by 0.6%.
In PGM futures on Tuesday:
-
July platinum was nearly flat, dipping 20 cents to $1,153.70 an ounce. It traded between $1,141.20 and $1,160.90.
- Palladium for June delivery turned down $8.90, or 1.2%, to $762.50 an ounce, ranging from $755 to $770.75.
London Precious Metals Prices
Earlier fixed London precious metals declined. In comparing London bullion prices from Monday PM to Tuesday PM:
- Gold eased $4.15, or 0.4%, to $1,194.75 an ounce,
- Silver fell 19 cents, or 1.2%, to $16.08 an ounce,
- Platinum fell $7, or 0.6%, to $1,147 an ounce, and
- Palladium sank $19, or 2.4%, to $760 an ounce.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in April
United States Mint bullion sales logged strong increases on Tuesday. Gold coins advanced 6,000 ounces, the most since March 16, and silver coins moved up by 440,000 ounces, the most since April 6. This listing of U.S. Mint bullion products show the number of coins sold during varying periods. Products with an asterisk (*) are no longer available.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday Sales | Last Week | Current Week | March Sales | April Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins | 4,000 | 1,500 | 5,000 | 35,000 | 6,500 | 105,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 1,000 | 0 | 5,000 | 2,000 | 27,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 8,000 | 2,000 | 46,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins | 5,000 | 10,000 | 10,000 | 70,000 | 20,000 | 255,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 1,500 | 2,500 | 1,500 | 9,500 | 5,500 | 61,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins | 440,000 | 771,000 | 575,500 | 3,519,000 | 1,418,500 | 13,489,500 |
| 2015 Homestead 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 15,000 | – | 35,000 | ||
