Precious metals declined on Tuesday, retreating more than their gains on Monday when gold scored its best settlement in 11-months and silver logged a 1.5-month high.
Gold for April delivery dropped $41.70, or 2.1%, to end at $1,941.10 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Heavy profit-taking pressure and position evening from the futures traders is featured ahead of the U.S. interest rate decision Wednesday afternoon. Also negative for gold and silver on this day is trader and investor risk appetite that has up-ticked just a bit," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Inc, said in a daily research note.
Tuesday morning, the Fed’s FOMC kicked off its two-day meeting about monetary policy. Many expect the meeting to end with a 0.25% increase in the benchmark funds rate, while some expect a pause in interest rate hikes due to banking fears.
Gold futures traded between $1,939.60 and $1,988.70. They rose 0.5% on Monday, closing at their best price since April 18.
Elsewhere, silver for May delivery settled down 22.1 cents, or 1%, to $22.425 an ounce. Silver futures ranged from $22.29 and $22.79. They moved up 0.8% on Monday, marking their highest finish since Feb. 2.
In other precious metals prices Tuesday:
-
April platinum fell $20.10, or 2%, to $976.70 an ounce, trading between $966.90 and $1,008.
- Palladium for June delivery declined $17.50, or 1.3%, to $1,383.10 an ounce, ranging from $1,375.50 to $1,412.50.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2023
On Tuesday, published United States Mint bullion sales contained a first entry for the 2023 American Platinum Eagle. Altogether, U.S. Mint bullion gains included:
- 7,200 ounces in American Platinum Eagles,
- 64,000 ounces in American Gold Eagles,
- 24,500 ounces in American Gold Buffalos, and
- 450,000 ounces in American Silver 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 Sales | February | March | 2023 Sales | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 7,200 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 7,200 | 7,200 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 64,000 | 39,500 | 118,000 | 41,500 | 114,000 | 273,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 37,000 | 8,000 | 1,000 | 46,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 8,000 | 62,000 | 12,000 | 10,000 | 84,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 115,000 | 85,000 | 10,000 | 210,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 24,500 | 14,500 | 59,000 | 19,500 | 43,500 | 122,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 450,000 | 0 | 3,949,000 | 900,000 | 900,000 | 5,749,000 |
Palladium is now twice as far from gold pricewise as it is from platinum. If this trend continues it points to the possibilty of a major shift in the precious metal hierarchy.
Are you surprised by Palladiums descent in price? Isn’t it’s main use in catalytic convertors put on those evil and disgusting combustion engine vehicles.You know, the gas cars and trucks that are destroying our planet. With everyone out buying EV’s, I suppose the demand for Palladium will continue to decline.On the bright side, maybe I’ll be able to snag one of those APdE’s before too long!
I may be asking for a s**tstorm of criticism with this, Craig, but I think going from the internal combustion engine to batteries (much as the switch from incandescent to LED light bulbs) is a boneheaded idea if there ever was one. Just where do all the chicken littles think all of that extra electricity is going to come from?
The power charging stations at your local grocery store.
I had completely forgotten, Antonio, that to compete with Wal-Mart small grocery stores had to build coal, gas and nuclear plants out back.
… or like this
I wonder if people over here realize, Good Sir Rich, that nuclear power plants in Europe are just about as ubiquitous as Starbucks are here. Okay, that’s more than a bit of hyperbole but it serves to illustrate just how much the Europeans rely on them.
Kaiser, Kaiser, Kaiser- why fight progress? We’ll all be dragged into the future whether we like it or not. I recall reading that people hated the incandescent light when it was first introduced because the glow wasn’t as natural as candlelight. Reminds me of when I’d joke with my kids when they were young about the days when I had to shovel coal into everything to power it up, whether it be the TV or the refrigerator. Perhaps they’ll joke with their kids about having to put gasoline in everything.
My point, Major D, is that while electric cars may not cause any air pollution all the various types of power plants that provide the electricity for the battery-operated cars certainly do, so it appears to be a bit of six of one and a half a dozen of the other.
In regard to the post-incandescent era of light bulbs, I’m not sure the pricing of these bulbs at several multiples of the previous ones they’re replacing is doing any favors for the average person’s pocketbook.
You’ll get no criticism from me, Kaiser, as I love my dependable cars powered by gas. I think developing EV’s is a good thing and would work better in congested urban areas where one doesn’t have to drive far. Since there has been an increase of car thefts specific to catalytic converters in cities, having a EV would eliminate that possibility. It’s reported some criminals can cut a CC from a car in under 1.5 minutes. Talk about starting your day off in a bad way! On the dark side of EV’s is the amount of mining one would have… Read more »
Ditto on being hooked on the good old gas-powered automobile, Craig. My 2012 Yaris with all of 15,000 miles on it will likely last me the rest of my lifetime, or so one could hope.
This is the first I’ve heard of a fractional ASE set. I definitely see the possibilities here, that is, as long as it isn’t done exotically aka weirdly like some of the Canadian coins and/or sets.
Only “Magic” Mike is floating that rumor to spur
suckersbuyers into buying his $599 fractional set of Fiji silver eagles. Apparently Fiji silver is a lot more valuable than elsewhere.Speaking of “magic”, Roger, that property description fits Fiji silver in that the items never get anywhere near the tiny island paradise. It is dug up at mine A, refined at factory B, stamped at mint C and sold throughout the world as the product of a certain locale it never crosses paths with, island X (aka Fiji).
The big issue facing EV’s besides where the “juice” will come from not to mention the minerals needed to make the batteries is disposal of damaged batteries and the cost to replace them.
Since there is no current way to repair damaged batteries Insurance companies are totaling EV cars involved in even minor accidents if the battery is damaged. As a result the insurance on an EV is ~$200 more than for an equivalently priced traditional vehicle and junk yards are going to fill up with EV’s and batteries that they can’t environmentally dispose of with current tech.
Can’t they recycle those batteries into composite boards for decking? I was hoping those prices would come down some as I will be replacing my wood with composite this year.
LOL. I Think not…maybe paving stones.
BTW I replaced my old wood deck with composite and the wood railing with metal two years ago. Best thing I ever did.
Clearly you were sparked to plug any number of possibly acidic retorts using an entire battery of explosive points, Roger.
Besides, Palladium can always go back to being a music production company.
I’m always surprised by people who think they can hide gold from airport security.
Major D, shouldn’t the smugglers swallow the bars just like with cocaine condoms?
It’s a metal, isn’t it?
That brings to mind that extremely funny exchange in My Blue Heaven, thanks to Steve Martin’s sheer comic brilliance. “What’s arugula?” “It’s a veg-e-ta-ble.”
H’mmm. I’m not surprised that metal detectors detect metal. I’m surprised by folks that don’t understand that.
However, Major D, if those are Chinese gold bars made of gilded bamboo or bat hide they might just be able to slip past the border and customs check.