Precious metals advanced Tuesday. Gains in platinum and palladium were their second in a row, and palladium scored another new record settlement — its second straight.
Gold for April delivery added $5, or 0.4%, to close at $1,306.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the strongest since last Wednesday, March 13.
"Although investment demand has been at times subdued, gold priced around $1,300 tells you there is still some institutional interest," Reuters quoted Philip Newman, a director at Metals Focus.
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,302.10 to a high of $1,310.80. They slipped 0.1% on Monday.
Silver for May delivery rose 5 cents, or 0.3%, to settle at $15.372 an ounce. The finish was also silver’s highest since last Wednesday. Silver futures traded between $15.32 and $15.45. They shed less than a half cent on Monday.
In other precious metals futures Tuesday:
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April platinum surged $18.60, or 2.2%, to $852.60 an ounce, ranging from $834.60 to $856.30.
- Palladium for June delivery advanced $12.20, or 0.8%, to $1,551.90 an ounce, trading between $1,536 and $1,563.30.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Monday PM to Tuesday PM
- Gold added $2.10, or 0.2%, to $1,307.70 an ounce.
- Silver added 3 cents, or 0.2%, to $15.41 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
US Mint 2019 Bullion Sales
United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged. 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 | January | February | March | 2019 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 27,100 | 2,400 | 2,000 | 31,500 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 5,500 | 500 | 44,500 | 11,000 | 7,500 | 63,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15,000 | 1,000 | 0 | 16,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 4,000 | 0 | 20,000 | 0 | 4,000 | 24,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 5,000 | 0 | 90,000 | 10,000 | 5,000 | 105,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 3,500 | 500 | 23,500 | 6,000 | 4,500 | 34,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 850,000 | 0 | 4,017,500 | 2,157,500 | 850,000 | 7,025,000 |
| Lowell 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 80,000 | 0 | N/A | 80,000 | 80,000 | |
