Precious metals futures ended lower Tuesday after rising in the previous session. Gold and silver each shed 0.3%. On Monday, gold finished at an almost two-week high.
Gold for August delivery slipped $4.20 to settle at $1,255.40 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The yellow metal declined as the U.S. dollar strengthened.
"If this dollar strength continues, we could see another test of $1,240, the lows from last week and mid-December, a crucial technical level," Reuters quoted Carsten Fritsch, commodity analyst at Commerzbank in Frankfurt.
Gold futures traded from a low of $1,247.70 to a high of $1,261. They rose 0.3% on Monday, marking their best close since June 26.
Meanwhile, silver for September delivery lost 5.2 cents to settle at $16.087 an ounce. Silver futures ranged from $15.92 to $16.20. They climbed 0.4% on Monday.
In other precious metals futures on Tuesday:
-
October platinum fell $7.30, or 0.9%, to $846.20 an ounce, trading between $840 and $858.60.
- Palladium for September delivery dropped $17.10, or 1.8%, to $937.60 an ounce, ranging from $934.40 to $956.50.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Monday PM to Tuesday PM:
- Gold declined $8.05, or 0.6%, to 1,254 an ounce.
- Silver fell 27.5 cents, or 1.7%, to $15.93 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2018
United States Mint bullion products posted their first gains of the week with sales of 1,000 ounces in American Eagle and Buffalo gold coins and 240,000 ounces in American Silver Eagles.
Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of coins sold during varying periods.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday / This Week | Last Week | May | June | July | 2018 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 10,000 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 500 | 6,500 | 18,500 | 21,500 | 7,000 | 94,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 1,000 | 0 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 18,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 18,000 | 4,000 | 0 | 48,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 10,000 | 15,000 | 0 | 125,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 500 | 5,500 | 16,500 | 6,500 | 6,000 | 59,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 240,000 | 75,000 | 380,000 | 435,000 | 315,000 | 7,137,500 |
| Pictured Rocks 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| Apostle Islands 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| Voyageurs 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 | 0 | 30,000 |
