Gold prices declined Wednesday for the first time in five sessions. In other metals, silver retreated for a second day while platinum and palladium climbed for the first time this week.
Falling from a three-week log, gold for April delivery shed $3.80, or 0.2%, to end at $1,607.50 an ounce on the Comex in New York. Prices traded from an intraday low of $1,599.60 to a high of $1,613.90.
"Gold started the week strong and stops (buy orders) were hit at around $1,600, which pushed prices to $1,615 yesterday. We are seeing some profit-taking at the moment amid uncertainty surrounding Cyprus," Reuters quoted MKS SA head of trading Afshin Nabavi said.
"Investors have not taken much action yet and await more details of the rescue plan, but prices should be well supported in the $1,600 area."
On Tuesday, gold settled to its highest price since February 26 as it notched eight session wins in nine.
In other New York precious metals futures:
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Silver for May delivery fell 2.6 cents, or 0.1%, to close at $28.817 an ounce. Silver moved between $28.400 and $28.985.
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April platinum gained $27.10, or 1.7%, to $1,582.50 an ounce, trading between $1,554.80 and $1,583.00.
- Palladium for June delivery surged $23.00, or 3.1%, to $758.20 an ounce, ranging from $734.00 to $764.50.
London Precious Metals
Precious metals in London were mixed. In contrasting the Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM London Fix prices:
- Gold inched higher by $3.25, or 0.2%, to $1,607.50 an ounce,
- Silver added 5.0 cents, or 0.2%, to $28.90 an ounce,
- Platinum declined $13.00, or 0.8%, to $1,566.00 an ounce, and
- Palladium fell $14.00, or 1.8%, to $747.00 an ounce
US Bullion Coin Sales in March
Sales levels for United States Mint bullion coins remained unchanged Wednesday. While not unusual for the series of U.S. bullion products, it was the first zero reported sales day in exactly two weeks. The latest figures for the U.S. Mint’s bullion products follow.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Coin Sales | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday Sales | Last Week | Week-To-Date | March Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle Gold Coins | 0 | 7,500 | 2,000 | 31,500 | 224,000 |
| $25 American Eagle Gold Coins | 0 | 1,000 | 0 | 3,000 | 25,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Gold Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 6,000 | 42,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Gold Coins | 0 | 10,000 | 0 | 20,000 | 200,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Gold Coins | 0 | 1,000 | 500 | 7,000 | 91,000 |
| American Silver Eagle Coins | 0 | 814,500 | 692,000 | 2,413,500 | 13,270,000 |
| America the Beautiful 5 Oz. Silver Bullion Coin Sales | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday Sales | Last Week | Week-To-Date | March Sales | All-Time Sales | |
| 2012 El Yunque National Forest 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | Sold Out | 0 | 24,000 | ||
| 2012 Chaco Culture National Historical Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 600 | 24,400 | |||
| 2012 Acadia National Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 25,400 | |||
| 2012 Hawai’i Volcanoes 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 20,000 | |||
| 2012 Denali National Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 20,000 | |||
| 2011 Olympic National Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 104,900 |
| 2011 Vicksburg National Military Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10,400 | 58,100 |
| 2011 Chickasaw Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8,800 | 48,700 |
| TOTAL | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19,800 | 325,500 |
All bullion figures above are in the number of coins sold. Calculate total ounces by using the bullion coin’s weight.
