CN: Gold, Silver Hit Multi-Month Lows; US Coin Sales Jump
Precious metals futures tumbled on Tuesday, with gold marking a 16-week low and silver hitting a 7-month low.
Gold for August delivery fell $20.60, or 1.8%, to end at $1,152.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement price is the lowest point since gold ended at $1,151.30 an ounce on March 18. Strength in the U.S. dollar pressured prices, opined analysts.
"The economic crisis in Greece has not been able to help gold since most investors are rushing to buy more dollars," Bloomberg News quoted Bill O’Neill, a partner at Logic Advisors in Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. "The anticipation of tightening by the Fed is keeping gold under pressure."
Gold prices ranged from a low of $1,146.80 to a high of $1,170. The precious metal advanced on Monday by $9.70 or 0.8%.
Silver for September delivery tumbled 78 cents, or 5%, to settle at $14.97 an ounce. Silver traded as high as $15.71 and reached a low of $14.62, the weakest level since prices touched $14.16 an ounce on Dec. 1.
In PGM futures on Tuesday:
October platinum shed $24.80, or 2.3%, to $1,041.50 an ounce, ranging from $1027 to $1069.60.
Palladium for September dived $23.75, or 3.5%, to $652.40 an ounce, trading between $640.90 and $683.75.
London Precious Metals Prices
Earlier fixed London precious metals prices mostly declined. Silver was the exception. In comparing London bullion prices from Monday PM to Tuesday PM:
Gold fell $9.75, or 0.8%, to $1,156.25 an ounce,
Silver added 2 cents, or 0.1%, to $15.61 an ounce,
Platinum slipped $1, or 0.1%, $1,046 an ounce, and
Palladium declined $9, or 1.3%, to $661 an ounce.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in July
United States Mint bullion products scored another exceptional day of sales with gold coins advancing by 9,500 ounces and silver coins rallying by 1,001,000 ounces. Silver sales will remain unchanged for the rest of this week. The U.S. Mint’s Silver Eagle inventory ran out on Tuesday and Blue Ridge Parkway five-ounce coins, which temporarily sold out on June 22, will not return until Monday.
Below is a listing of U.S. Mint bullion products that shows the number of coins sold during varying periods. Products with an asterisk (*) are no longer available. Those with a double asterisk (**) are temporarily unavailable.
