Precious metals futures posted gains on Tuesday but losses in July. Gold stretched its losing streak to four straight months.
Gold for December delivery rose $2.10, or 0.2%, to settle at $1,233.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"We’ve seen a pickup in commodity demand. Some of that is relative to the slight weakness in the dollar," Reuters quoted David Meger, director of metals trading at High Ridge Futures. "We expect for commodities to continue to recover off the recent lows."
Gold futures traded 1.7% lower in July, dropping a combined 7.1% in their four straight monthly declines. The yellow metal is 5.8% lower on the year to date.
Elsewhere, silver for September added 2.2 cents, or 0.1%, to finish at $15.559 an ounce. Silver futures dropped for a second month in a row. They sank 3.9% in July after falling 1.6% in June. The precious metal is 9.3% lower on the year so far.
In PGM futures on Tuesday and for July:
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October platinum jumped $14.30, or 1.7%, to $845.80 an ounce, but lost 1.4% on the month.
- Palladium for September delivery gained $9.40, or 1%, to $931.90 an ounce, but declined 2% in July.
The two metals are lower on the year with losses of 9.9% for platinum and 12.2% for palladium.
London Precious Metals Prices
London precious metals prices ended mixed on Tuesday and lower for the month. In comparing their levels from Monday PM to Tuesday PM:
- Gold declined $2.85, or 0.2%, to 1,220.95 an ounce.
- Silver shed 6 cents, or 0.4%, to $15.43 an ounce.
- Platinum gained $5, or 0.6%, to $831 an ounce.
- Palladium was unchanged at $928 an ounce.
In LBMA results for July, losses reached 2.4% for gold, 3.7% for silver, 2.4% for platinum, and 2.6% for palladium.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2018
Demand for United States Mint bullion coins surged in July from June but remains down overall from a year ago. In headline comparisons:
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American Eagle gold coins totaled 35,000 ounces in July, soaring 42.9% from the 24,500 ounces in June and doubling the 17,500 ounces in July 2017. Year to date sales at 155,500 ounces are 26.3% lower than the 211,000 ounces delivered during the same time in 2017.
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American Eagle silver coins reached 885,000 ounces for the month, rising 103.5% from 435,000 ounces in June but plunging 61.9% from the 2.32 million ounces in July of last year. 2018 Silver Eagle sales at 7,707,500 are down 47% from the 14,553,500 sold through the first seven months of last year.
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American Buffalo gold coins jumped by 24,500 ounces in July — the most since January 2017, soaring 276.9% from 6,500 ounces in June and surging 308.3% from the 6,000 ounces in July 2017. Year to date sales at 78,000 ounces are 8.3% higher than the 72,000 ounces moved during the same months in 2017.
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America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Bullion Coin sales were muted for a second straight month. Sales for the year so far at 450,000 ounces are 20% higher than the 375,000 ounces sold through the first seven months in 2017.
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American Eagle platinum coins reached 20,000 ounces in their February release month, matching annual sales in years 2016 and 2017. The U.S. Mint sold another 10,000 ounces in May for a total of 30,000 ounces. No platinum coins sold in July and June.
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 | Last Week | This Week | June | July | 2018 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 6,500 | 1,500 | 21,500 | 31,500 | 119,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 18,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 4,000 | 2,000 | 50,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 5,000 | 0 | 15,000 | 25,000 | 150,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 6,000 | 6,500 | 24,500 | 78,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 240,000 | 100,000 | 435,000 | 885,000 | 7,707,500 |
| 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 |
