Precious metals climbed in tandem on Tuesday, reaching settlement highs that ranged from earlier May for silver to the third week of June for palladium.
Gaining for the fifth time in six sessions, gold for August delivery tacked on $24.40, or 1.3%, to settle at $1,980.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement marks gold’s highest since June 6.
"The charts have recently turned more bullish for both precious metals [gold and silver], which is inviting the technically based speculators to the long side of those markets. A weaker-than-expected U.S. retail sales report this morning is also supporting ideas the Federal Reserve can take its foot of the gas sooner, regarding its interest-rate-increase cycle," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, said in a daily research note.
On the day, gold futures traded between $1,958.10 and $1,988.30, after falling by 0.4% on Monday.
Advancing for fourth time in five sessions, silver for September rose by 23.8 cents, or 1%, to finish at $25.256 an ounce — the best settlement since May 10. Silver futures ranged from $24.97 and $25.41, after shedding 0.7% on Monday.
In other precious metals prices on Tuesday:
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October platinum increased by $6.90, or 0.7%, to $994.40 an ounce, trading between $983.80 and $1,003.70. The close was platinum’s highest since June 12.
- Palladium for September delivery jumped by $35.40, or 2.8%, to $1,316.50 an ounce, ranging from $1,274 to $1,324.50. Palladium’s finish was its strongest since June 21.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2023
Last week, on Tuesday, the U.S. Mint reported the first bullion sales gains for the month and published updated figures for June. Since then, there have been no further reports of bullion sales.
The table below presents a breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products sold, with columns indicating the number of coins sold (not total ounces) during different time periods.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday / This Week | Last Week / July | March | April | May | June | 2023 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 12,000 | 211,000 | 159,500 | 60,500 | 35,000 | 637,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 1,000 | 8,000 | 18,000 | 1,000 | 73,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 10,000 | 12,000 | 32,000 | 4,000 | 132,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 10,000 | 35,000 | 80,000 | 60,000 | 385,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,500 | 73,000 | 61,000 | 47,000 | 17,000 | 279,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 414,000 | 900,000 | 900,000 | 1,593,000 | 1,482,000 | 10,138,000 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 7,500 | 500 | 1,200 | 3,500 | 12,700 |
