Gold and silver futures declined modestly Tuesday after rebounding from about 6-year lows on Monday.
Gold for February delivery shed $1.80, or 0.2%, to settle at $1,063.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"The next big move in gold will remain dependent on Fed speculation, and as long as all indications continue to point to a rate hike in two weeks, gold will continue to be under pressure and the path of least resistance will remain lower," MarketWatch quoted Tyler Richey, co-editor of The 7:00’s Report.
Gold prices traded from a low of $1,062.60 to a high of $1,074. They moved up by 0.9% on Monday.
Silver for March delivery lost less than a penny to close at $14.08 an ounce. Silver prices traded from $14.04 to $14.24. They rose 0.3% in the previous session.
In PGM futures on Tuesday:
-
January platinum added $2.50, or 0.3%, to $835.40 an ounce, ranging from $831.60 to $846.50.
- Palladium for March delivery declined $4, or 0.7%, to $539.20 an ounce, trading between $538.05 and $555.
London Precious Metals Prices
Earlier fixed London gold and silver prices advanced. In comparing their levels from Monday PM to Tuesday PM:
- Gold added $3.50, or 0.3%, to $1,065.40 an ounce.
- Silver rose 13 cents, or 0.9%, to $14.21 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales
United States Mint silvers sales advanced by 229,500 ounces with splits of 183,500 ounces in American Silver Eagles and 46,000 ounces in America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Bullion Coins.
On Monday, the U.S. Mint released the fifth and last of the 2015-dated five ounce bullion coins. It features a design honoring Saratoga National Historic Park in New York. Sales opened at 35,800 coins. Another 9,200 sold on Tuesday for a sellout at 45,000 coins. Demand for the five-ounce series has surged this year. Their sales are the highest since coins from 2011.
The U.S. Mint this week set its allocation level for American Silver Eagles at 920,500 coins. All of them have now been purchased. The Mint’s authorized buyers will have to wait until next week when more are made available.
2015 Silver Eagles broke a sales record on Monday, topping the previous annual record set in 2014. The new record total moved up on Tuesday to 44,850,000 coins.
Below is a listing of U.S. Mint bullion products with 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 | This Week | Nov Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins* | N/A | 16,000 | N/A | 80,500 | 626,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7,000 | 74,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins* | N/A | N/A | N/A | 12,000 | 158,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins* | N/A | N/A | N/A | 100,000 | 980,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins* | 0 | 18,000 | 3,000 | 38,000 | 219,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins | 183,500 | 1,000,000 | 920,500 | 4,824,000 | 44,850,000 |
| 2015 Homestead 5 Oz Silver Coins* | N/A | 35,000 | |||
| 2015 Kisatchie 5 Oz Silver Coins* | 42,000 | ||||
| 2015 Blue Ridge Parkway 5 Oz Silver Coins* | 45,000 | ||||
| 2015 Bombay Hook 5 Oz Silver Coins* | 45,000 | ||||
| 2015 Saratoga 5 Oz Silver Coins* | 9,200 | N/A | 45,000 | 35,800 | 45,000 |
