Precious metals futures ended mostly higher Tuesday. Gold and palladium scored fresh milestone highs though silver slipped from a 12-week high.
Gold for December delivery added $3.60, or 0.3%, to end at $1,318.90 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement is the highest since Sept. 29 when gold prices ended at $1,326 an ounce.
"The yellow metal was supported on news North Korea fired a ballistic missile over Japan," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a report. "An eroding U.S. dollar index that hit another 15-month low today also lifted the precious metals markets."
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,310.60 to a high of $1,331.90. They gained 1.3% in their start to the week on Monday.
Silver for September delivery dipped 1.5 cents, or less than 0.1%, to settle at $17.426 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $17.25 and $17.67. They rallied 2.3% in the prior session, ending at their best price since June 6.
In other precious metals futures prices:
-
October platinum tacked on $14.20, or 1.4%, to $1,003.50 an ounce, ranging from $991 to $1,011.50.
- Palladium for December delivery gained $11.35, or 1.2%, to $943.70 an ounce — its latest, strongest settlement since February 2001. Palladium prices traded between $932.90 and $947.
London Precious Metals Prices
London market closed Monday for a public holiday. In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Friday PM to Tuesday PM:
- Gold added $33.35 or 2.6%, to 1,318.65 an ounce.
- Silver jumped 58 cents, or 3.4%, to $17.60 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 advanced Tuesday by 1,000 ounces in gold coins and by 350,000 ounces in silver coins. 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 | Last Week | This Week | July | August | YTD | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 500 | 1,500 | 500 | 13,500 | 6,500 | 162,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 1,000 | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 29,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 4,000 | 2,000 | 54,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 15,000 | 0 | 30,000 | 15,000 | 305,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 500 | 500 | 500 | 6,000 | 3,000 | 75,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 300,000 | 190,000 | 600,000 | 2,320,000 | 1,025,000 | 15,578,500 |
| 2017 Effigy Mounds 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35,000 |
| 2017 Frederick Douglass 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| 2017 Ozark Riverways 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| 2017 Ellis Island 5 Oz Silver Coin | 10,000 | N/A | 39,500 | N/A | 39,500 | 39,500 |
a rear green day, for the 4 precious 1’s.