Precious metals declined as a group Tuesday. Losses in gold and silver where their third in a row with both ending at nearly two-week lows.
Gold for December delivery fell $9, or 0.7%, to settle at $1,213.40 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The finish was the weakest since Nov. 14.
"Technically, the gold bears have the overall near-term technical advantage and gained downside momentum today," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a report. "Gold bulls’ next upside near-term price breakout objective is to produce a close in February futures above solid technical resistance at the October high of $1,252.00."
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,219.40 to a high of $1,225.20. They dipped less than 0.1% on Monday.
Elsewhere, silver for December delivery declined 12.1 cents, or 0.9%, to settle at $14.084 an ounce. The settlement was also the lowest since Nov. 14. Silver futures traded between $14.14 and $14.27. They fell 0.3% on Monday.
In other precious metals futures on Tuesday:
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January platinum lost $12.50, or 1.5%, to $835.30 an ounce, ranging from $832.50 to $848.70.
- Palladium for March delivery — the new, most active contact — shed $1.80, or 0.2%, to $1,122.10 an ounce. Palladium prices traded between $1,111.10 and $1,129.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Monday PM to Tuesday PM:
- Gold declined $2.20, or 0.2%, to 1,221.20 an ounce.
- Silver fell 10.5 cents, or 0.7%, to $14.275 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
The United States Mint has not reported any increases in bullion sales for more than a week. 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 | October | November | 2018 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 21,000 | 5,000 | 177,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 4,000 | 2,000 | 30,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 2,000 | 62,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 10,000 | 15,000 | 225,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 6,500 | 3,000 | 117,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 1,430,000 | 1,270,000 | 14,835,000 |
| 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 |
| Cumberland Island 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 52,500 |
