Precious metals futures mostly declined Tuesday. Palladium was the exception, posting its third straight record settlement.
Gold for February delivery shed $4, or 0.3%, to settle at $1,285.90 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"The safe-haven metals are being pressured by upbeat trader and investor attitudes early this week," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a report. "Still, the bulls can argue the price weakness in both metals is just a normal corrective pullback following recent gains that pushed gold to a six-month high and silver to a five-month high late last week."
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,280.20 to a high of $1,291.40. They rose 0.3% on Monday. Last Thursday, they closed at $1,294.80 an ounce for their best settlement since June. 14.
Ending lower for a third session in a row after rising for seven straight, silver for March delivery declined 4.3 cents, or 0.3%, to end at $15.713 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $15.56 and $15.75. They slipped 0.2% on Monday. Last Thursday, the metal registered its best settlement — at $15.797 an ounce — since July 16.
In rounding out precious metals dealings:
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April platinum fell $2.50, or 0.3%, to $821.80 an ounce, ranging from $818.90 to $830.50.
- Palladium for March delivery surged $21.20, or 1.7%, to $1,261.40 an ounce — another new record close. Palladium prices traded between $1,236.30 and $1,270.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Monday PM to Tuesday PM:
- Gold fell $5.75, or 0.4%, to $1,286.45 an ounce.
- Silver declined 11 cents, or 0.7%, to $15.64 an ounce.
In LBMA results last week, gold rose less than 0.1% and silver advanced 2.7%.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2019
On Monday, Jan. 7, the United States Mint started accepting orders for its 2019-dated American Eagle and Buffalo bullion coins. Their sales today boosted the already strong gains from Monday.
Advances on the day included a combined 2,500 ounces in American Eagle and Buffalo gold coins; 150,000 ounces in American Silver Eagles; and 1,000 ounces in American Platinum 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 | Last Week | December | 2018 Sales | This Week / 2019 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 1,000 | 0 | 0 | 30,000 | 19,200 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 500 | 0 | 3,000 | 191,000 | 30,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 1,000 | 0 | 0 | 32,000 | 12,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 2,000 | 0 | 0 | 62,000 | 16,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 5,000 | 0 | 0 | 230,000 | 45,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 500 | 0 | 1,500 | 121,500 | 17,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 150,000 | 100,000 | 490,000 | 15,700,000 | 2,671,000 |
