Gold and silver futures ended lower in their March start on Tuesday while platinum and palladium advanced. Gold’s decline was attributed to contracted, yet better-than-expected U.S. factory data that boosted investors’ appetite for riskier assets.
Gold for April delivery shed $3.60, or 0.3%, to settle at $1,230.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Gold saw some profit-taking pressure set in Tuesday, following recent gains. An improved risk appetite on this day also worked against the safe-haven metal," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a report.
Gold prices ranged from a low of $1,227.70 to a high of $1,249.30. On Monday, they advanced 1.1% to finish 10.6% higher in February — their best monthly gain since January 2012.
Silver for May delivery declined 16.2 cents, or 1.1%, to settle at $14.756 an ounce. Silver prices traded between $14.74 and $15.10. They gained 1.4% in the previous session, ending 4.7% higher in February.
In other precious metals futures on Tuesday:
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April platinum rose $2.40, or 0.3%, to $936.70 an ounce, ranging from $932.80 to $946.70.
- Palladium for June delivery rallied $21.70, or 4.4%, to $517.35 an ounce, trading between $491.25 and $523.25.
London Precious Metals Prices
Earlier fixed London gold and silver prices moved higher. In comparing their levels from Monday PM to Tuesday PM:
- Gold added $1.60, or 0.1%, to $1,236.50 an ounce.
- Silver added 24 cents, or 1.6%, to $14.99 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2016
United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged Tuesday following solid gains on Monday and strong results for February. Below is a sales breakdown of United States Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of bullion coins sold during varying periods of time.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday Sales | Last Week | This Week | Jan Sales | Feb Sales | Mar Sales | 2016 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 6,000 | 9,000 | 89,000 | 67,500 | 0 | 156,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 1,000 | 0 | 23,000 | 6,000 | 0 | 29,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 2,000 | 36,000 | 12,000 | 0 | 48,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 25,000 | 25,000 | 145,000 | 100,000 | 0 | 245,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 4,500 | 2,000 | 34,000 | 19,000 | 0 | 53,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 1,073,500 | 736,500 | 5,954,500 | 4,782,000 | 0 | 10,736,500 |
| 2016 Shawnee 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 30,000 | 0 | N/A | 105,000 | 0 | 105,000 |
FYI CoinNews readers – Since a few of you requested it, I posted on the February 27 precious metals report on this coin blog website the following: The official list as of February 18 of the only 13 companies worldwide that are officially registered as U.S. Mint silver, gold & platinum bullion version coin “Authorized Purchasers” who are the only 13 companies worldwide that can purchase bullion version coins directly from the U.S. Mint. If you are not purchasing from one of these 13 companies, you are dealing with a “middleman” & are paying a higher premium for your bullion… Read more »