Gold futures ended at an eight-week low Tuesday after edging higher in their start to the week on Monday. Silver, meanwhile, advanced its streak of down sessions to eleven in a row, marking a fresh, more than four-month low.
Gold for June delivery shed $11, or 0.9%, to settle at $1,216.10 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement is the lowest since March 15. Higher risk appetite, a stronger U.S. dollar and raised expectations of U.S. interest rate hike have been bearish for the yellow metal, opined analysts.
"The big signs for gold are going to be a combination of interest-rate movement and stock market fear as we enter the seasonally weak months of the year (May 1 through Halloween)," MarketWatch quoted Adam Koos, president of Libertas Wealth Management Group. "If stocks start to stumble toward the end of this month and interest rates revert to their mean, we could see some temporary upside pressure to the yellow metal."
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,214.90 to a high of $1,228.70. They edged up 20 cents in the prior session.
Elsewhere, silver futures for July delivery declined 19.1 cents, or 1.2%, to finish at $16.067 an ounce. The settlement is the weakest since Dec. 30. Silver futures traded between $16.06 and $16.32. They lost 0.1% on Monday.
In rounding out precious metals action on Tuesday:
-
July platinum fell $18.70, or 2%, to $900.90 an ounce, ranging from $900 to $920.50.
- Palladium for June delivery declined $11.95, or 1.5%, to $793.60 an ounce, trading between $790.90 and $809.60.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London bullion prices from Monday PM to Tuesday PM:
- Gold fell $9.40, or 0.8%, to $1,220.40 an ounce.
- Silver declined 16 cents, or 1%, to $16.22 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 3:27 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 | April Sales | May Sales | 2017 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 3,500 | 2,000 | 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 | 2,000 | 0 | 46,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 20,000 | 0 | 210,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 1,000 | 3,500 | 1,000 | 60,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 530,000 | 835,000 | 530,000 | 9,322,500 |
| 2017 Effigy Mounds 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 100 | 900 | 100 | 20,700 |
| 2017 Frederick Douglass 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 800 | 17,600 | 800 | 18,400 |
