Platinum rose slightly on Tuesday while gold, silver and palladium declined. Silver performed the worst, giving back 1.5% after closing at a more than 2-month high on Monday.
Gold for June delivery shed $15.80, or 0.9%, to settle at $1,776 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Gold and silver prices are lower in midday U.S. trading Tuesday, following surprising remarks coming from the U.S. Treasury Secretary and former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, who said U.S. interest rates may need to rise. Gold and silver prices had poked to nine-week highs in early trading today," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, said in a daily research note.
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,769.20 to a high of $1,799.50. They climbed 1.4% on Monday, registering their best finish since April 21.
Silver for May delivery fell 40.2 cents, or 1.5%, to settle at $26.558 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $26.16 and $27.24. They soared 4.2% on Monday, marking their highest close since Feb. 25.
In other precious metals futures Tuesday:
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July platinum edged up $1.70, or 0.1%, to $1,231.80 an ounce, ranging from $1,220.80 to $1,273.90.
- Palladium for June delivery shed $3.80, or 0.1%, to $2,977.60 an ounce, trading between $2,964.50 and 3,019.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2021
U.S. 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. Products with an asterisk (*) are no longer available.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday / This Week | Last Week | February Sales | March Sales | April Sales | 2021 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 7,500 | 121,000 | 55,500 | 38,500 | 406,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 9,000 | 0 | 0 | 31,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 | 0 | 56,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 55,000 | 0 | 150,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 16,000 | 33,500 | 11,000 | 122,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 3,191,500 | 4,087,000 | 1,053,000 | 13,106,500 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | N/A | 35,000 | 0 | 35,000 |
| Tuskegee Airmen 5 oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | N/A | N/A | 50,000 | 50,000 |
