Precious metals on Wednesday continued their advance from the prior session. Gold prices notched a more than five-week high, buoyed by U.S. dollar weakness.
Gold for June delivery rallied $25.80, or 2.2%, to close at $1,218.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement price was the highest since April 6 when gold ended at $1,218.60 an ounce.
"The recent U.S. dollar weakness has propelled gold back above $1,200," MarketWatch quoted Ken Ford, president of Warwick Valley Financial Advisors. "Now traders are paying very close attention to gold as it approaches resistance at $1,220," he said. "If price can break above that resistance level, gold should be able to make another run at $1,300 mark."
Gold prices ranged from a low of $1,190.40 to a high of $1,218.50. They advanced 0.8% in the previous session and are up 2.5% since Friday.
Silver for July delivery surged 70 cents, or 4.2%, to settle at $17.22 an ounce. The white metal traded between $16.48 and $17.24. Silver prices on the week are up 76 cents, or 4.6%.
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
-
July platinum added $17.80, or 1.6%, to $1,150.80 an ounce, ranging from $1,130.10 to $1,154.10.
- Palladium for June delivery rose $4.25, or 0.5%, to $789.40 an ounce, trading between $782.40 and $793.45.
London Precious Metals Prices
Earlier fixed London precious metals prices were flat to higher. In comparing London bullion prices from Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM:
- Gold added $19, or 1.6%, to $1,210.50 an ounce,
- Silver gained 19 cents, or 1.2%, to $16.65 an ounce,
- Platinum rose $9, or 0.8%, to $1,143 an ounce, and
- Palladium was unchanged at $786 an ounce.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in May
United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged Wednesday as of 3:41 PM ET. 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.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday Sales | Last Week | Monday Sales | April Sales | May Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 2,500 | 1,000 | 23,500 | 3,500 | 126,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 4,000 | 2,000 | 31,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 6,000 | 0 | 4,000 | 6,000 | 54,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 15,000 | 5,000 | 30,000 | 20,000 | 285,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 1,500 | 2,000 | 10,000 | 3,500 | 69,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 833,500 | 225,000 | 2,851,500 | 1,058,500 | 15,981,000 |
| 2015 Homestead 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 35,000 | ||||
| 2015 Kisatchie 5 Oz Silver Coins* | 0 | 12,000 | 0 | 30,000 | 12,000 | 42,000 |
