Precious metals extended their losses on Tuesday to five straight for platinum and palladium and to three in a row for gold and silver.
Gold for April delivery shed $31.10, or 1.6%, to settle at $1,929.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The close was gold’s lowest since March 2.
“A huge drop in crude oil prices that sees Nymex futures trading back below $100 a barrel is bearish for the metals markets and the entire raw commodity sector. The near-term technical postures for gold and silver have also deteriorated significantly recently, which is inviting the chart-based speculative sellers to step in,” Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, said in a daily research note.
Gold futures traded between $1,908.10 and $1,956.90. They gave back 1.2% on Monday. Last Tuesday, gold at $2,043.30 an ounce scored its highest settlement since Aug. 6, 2020.
Silver for May delivery declined 14 cents, or 0.6% to settle at $25.158 an ounce. The finish was silver’s worst since Feb. 28. Silver futures ranged from a low of $24.75 to a high of $25.32. They fell 3.3% on Monday.
In other precious metals futures Tuesday:
- April platinum fell $49.80, or 4.7%, to $1,002.50 an ounce, trading between $991.70 and $1,045. Platinum lost 3.3% on Monday.
- Palladium for June delivery dipped $5.60, or 0.2%, to $2,412 an ounce, ranging from $2,350 and $2,490. Palladium sank 13.6% on Monday.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2022
Published United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged on Tuesday. 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 | 2022 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 60,500 | 123,500 | 86,000 | 69,000 | 278,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 1,000 | 45,000 | 0 | 1,000 | 46,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 12,000 | 64,000 | 4,000 | 12,000 | 80,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 45,000 | 195,000 | 25,000 | 45,000 | 265,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 22,000 | 61,500 | 28,500 | 27,000 | 117,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 600,000 | 5,001,000 | 1,500,000 | 600,000 | 7,101,000 |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 6,500 | N/A | 25,800 | 11,200 | 37,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1 Oz Palladium Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tuskegee Airmen 5 oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |