Most precious metals futures turned higher Wednesday after dropping in tandem on Tuesday.
Gold for December delivery settled up $6.70, or 0.6%, to $1,131.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold prices traded from a low of $1,121.10 to a high of $1,134.
"Gold prices ended the U.S. day session modestly higher Wednesday, on a short-covering bounce in the futures market and some bargain hunting in the cash, following the selling pressure seen on Monday and Tuesday," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a report.
Gold’s prior higher settlement happened on Friday when prices surged 1.9% to post a 3.1% weekly gain.
Climbing for the fifth time in six sessions, silver for December delivery added 3 cents, or 0.2%, to settle at $14.79 an ounce. Silver prices ranged from $14.69 to $14.91. They plunged on Tuesday by 47 cents or 3.1%.
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
-
October platinum turned down $5.10, or 0.5%, to $932.40 an ounce, trading between $925.80 and $947.20.
- Palladium for December delivery tacked on $34.75, or 5.7%, to $645.70 an ounce, ranging from $606.90 to $651.
London Precious Metals Prices
Earlier fixed London gold and silver prices were mixed. In comparing their prices from Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM:
- Gold added $8.45, or 0.8%, to $1,131.35 an ounce.
- Silver fell 14 cents, or 0.9%, to $14.80 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in September
United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged Wednesday as of 3:19 p.m. Below is a listing of United States Mint bullion products with 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 | This Week | August Sales | Sept Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 35,500 | 12,000 | 78,500 | 88,500 | 510,000 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 3,000 | 1,000 | 8,000 | 7,000 | 61,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 8,000 | 4,000 | 24,000 | 16,000 | 138,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 40,000 | 30,000 | 130,000 | 140,000 | 795,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 6,500 | 3,000 | 20,000 | 19,500 | 168,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins | – | 809,500 | 750,000 | 4,935,000 | 2,804,500 | 35,054,500 |
| 2015 Homestead 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 35,000 | ||||
| 2015 Kisatchie 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 42,000 | ||||
| 2015 Blue Ridge Parkway 5 Oz Silver Coins* | – | 45,000 | ||||
