Precious metals futures were mostly lower Tuesday, although modestly. Gold was the exception, rebounding slightly from a 3-week low.
Gold for June delivery added $1.50, or 0.1%, to settle at $1,257 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Gold bulls have succumbed to selling pressure by losing the battle to defend the $1,260 support. While the metal could still be supported by risk aversion in the medium to longer term, the break below $1,260 may entice sellers to send prices toward $1,240," MarketWatch quoted Lukman Otunuga, research analyst at FXTM Research.
Gold futures traded between $1,252.60 and $1,258.80. They slid 1% in starting the week on Monday, closing at their lowest point since April 10.
Falling for a sixth straight session, silver futures for July delivery shed 1.1 cents, or less than 0.1%, to $16.831 an ounce. The settlement is the lowest since Jan. 13. Silver futures ranged from $16.80 to $17.02. They lost 2.4% in the previous session.
In rounding out precious metals dealings:
-
July platinum fell $6.20, or 0.7%, to $926 an ounce, trading between $924.80 and $937.20.
- Palladium for June delivery lost 85 cents, or 0.1%, to $813.60 an ounce, ranging from $810.50 to $818.60.
London Precious Metals Prices
London markets closed Monday for May Day holiday. In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Friday PM to Tuesday PM:
- Gold lost $11 or 0.9%, to $1,255.45 an ounce.
- Silver declined 46 cents, or 2.6%, to $16.95 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2017
U.S. Mint bullion sales were unchanged as of 4:11 p.m. ET. Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. bullion products with columns listing 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 / May | April Sales | 2017 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 1,000 | 2,000 | 3,500 | 129,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 46,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 10,000 | 0 | 20,000 | 210,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 3,500 | 60,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 235,000 | 530,000 | 835,000 | 9,322,500 |
| 2017 Effigy Mounds 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 100 | 900 | 20,700 |
| 2017 Frederick Douglass 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 1,400 | 800 | 17,600 | 18,400 |
