Gold prices shed 0.1% in the mid-week trading session Wednesday with investors more keyed to equities than safe-havens.
Gold for December delivery turned down $1.80 to settle at $1,283.40 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"The market is still very cautious. The physical side is not as good as in the previous month and even last year," Reuters quoted Brian Lan, managing director of retailer GoldSilver Central Pte Ltd in Singapore.
"What we are seeing is a lot of speculative trading by the bigger players and hedge funds. Gold is still within the trading band," Lan added.
In another day of light trading volume, a trend that is expected to continue until after the U.S. Labor Day holiday, gold prices narrowly traded from $1,280.90 to $1,288.20. Gold on Tuesday rose $6.30, or 0.5%.
Advancing for a second session, silver for September delivery climbed 2 cents, or 0.1%, to $19.41 an ounce. Silver prices ranged from $19.29 to $19.48.
In PGM future prices on Wednesday:
-
October platinum inched up 30 cents to $1,419.90 an ounce, ranging from $1,417.20 to $1,425.50.
- Palladium for September delivery tacked on $5.20, or 0.6%, to $893.90 an ounce, trading between $884.50 and $893.95.
London Fix Precious Metals
Earlier fixed London precious metals declined. When contrasting London bullion Fix prices and the LBMA Silver Price from Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM:
- Gold lost $3.25, or 0.3%, to $1,282.75 an ounce,
- Silver shed 17 cents, or 0.9%, to $19.32,
- Platinum fell $3, or 0.2%, to $1,420 an ounce, and
- Palladium dipped $1, or 0.1%, to $887 an ounce
US Mint Bullion Sales in August
U.S. Mint bullion sales were unchanged Wednesday as of 3:14 PM ET. Gains were logged later in the day on Tuesday with unit sales of:
- 3,500 in one-ounce American Gold Eagles
- 1,000 in American Gold Buffalo coins
- 105,000 in American Silver Eagles
- 8,800 in America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Bullion Coins
Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of bullion coins sold last week, this week so far, last month, the month so far, and the year to date.
American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wednesday Sales | Sales Last Week | Current Sales Week | July Sales | August Sales | YTD Sales | |
$100 American Platinum Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 300 | 0 | 0 | 700 | 13,600 |
$50 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 3,000 | 5,000 | 26,000 | 21,000 | 245,500 |
$25 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27,000 |
$10 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 4,000 | 6,000 | 6,000 | 84,000 |
$5 American Eagle Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 5,000 | 0 | 25,000 | 25,000 | 410,000 |
$50 American Buffalo Bullion Gold Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 1,500 | 5,500 | 8,000 | 125,000 |
$1 American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 430,000 | 397,500 | 1,975,000 | 2,007,500 | 28,111,000 |
Great Smoky Mountains National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 3,000 | 500 | 3,000 | 32,500 |
Shenandoah National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 500 | 0 | 500 | 20,500 |
Arches National Park 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 1,200 | 1,500 | 1,200 | 21,200 |
Great Sand Dunes 5 Oz Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | N/A | 7,500 | N/A | 7,500 | 7,500 |