Precious metals futures were little changed Tuesday with gold and palladium closing less than 0.1% from their prior-day settlements. Silver climbed nearly 0.2% while platinum advanced 0.6%.
Gold for December delivery edged up 60 cents, or less than 0.1%, to settle at $1,218.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"I think we are in a period of seasonal weakness," MarketWatch quoted George Milling-Stanley, head of gold investment strategy at State Street Global Advisors. "Demand in second quarter has been rather soft and I think that has been reflected in the price and I think that has continued into the third quarter," he said.
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,215.60 to a high of $1,224.30. They lost 0.5% on Monday, ending at their worst level since July 13, 2017.
Meanwhile, silver for September rose 2.5 cents to end at $15.373 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $15.30 and $15.51. They dropped 0.7% on Monday, closing at their lowest point since April 7, 2016.
In rounding out precious metals futures dealings:
-
October platinum gained $5.10 to $831.40 an ounce, ranging from $823.30 to $839.60.
- Palladium for September delivery shed 70 cents to $902.90 an ounce, trading between $899.60 and $915.20.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Monday PM to Tuesday PM:
- Gold rose $2.70, or 0.2%, to 1,212.35 an ounce.
- Silver rose 12 cents, or 0.8%, to $15.465 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 sales were unchanged Tuesday. 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 | July | August | 2018 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 31,500 | 500 | 119,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 1,000 | 0 | 18,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 50,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 25,000 | 0 | 150,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 6,500 | 24,500 | 500 | 78,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 130,000 | 885,000 | 30,000 | 7,737,500 |
| Pictured Rocks 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| Apostle Islands 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| Voyageurs 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
