Precious metals ended mostly lower Tuesday. Not platinum, which advanced for a second day in a row. Gold and silver, meanwhile, slipped from their one-month highs.
Gold for April delivery declined $7.60, or 0.6%, to settle at $1,315 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Gold and silver fell "on normal downside corrections following recent gains that pushed prices to multi-week highs recently," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a daily report. "Some profit-taking from the shorter-term futures traders was also featured today."
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,312.10 to a high of $1,323. They advanced 0.8% on Monday, ending at their best level since Feb. 26.
Silver for May delivery dropped 13.8 cents, or 0.9%, to settle at $15.429 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $15.39 and $15.56. They rose 1% on Monday, marking their best close since Feb. 28.
In rounding out precious metals futures Tuesday:
-
April platinum added $2.10, or 0.2%, to $859.80 an ounce, ranging from $850.10 to $863.10.
- Palladium for June delivery lost $27.50, or 1.8%, to $1,515.90 an ounce, trading between $1,504.90 and $1,549.50.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Monday PM to Tuesday PM
- Gold declined $3.25, or 0.3%, to $1,316.30 an ounce.
- Silver fell 8.5 cents, or 0.6%, to $15.44 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 coins logged their first gains of the week. Increases included 500 ounces in American Platinum Eagles and 500 ounces in American Gold 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 / This Week | Last Week | January | February | March | 2019 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 500 | 1,000 | 27,100 | 2,400 | 3,500 | 33,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 500 | 500 | 44,500 | 11,000 | 8,000 | 63,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 1,000 | 15,000 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 17,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 20,000 | 0 | 4,000 | 24,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 5,000 | 90,000 | 10,000 | 10,000 | 110,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 1,500 | 23,500 | 6,000 | 5,500 | 35,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 4,017,500 | 2,157,500 | 850,000 | 7,025,000 |
| Lowell 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | N/A | 80,000 | 80,000 | |
