Gold Dips Ahead of Fed Statement

3
Stacks of gold bars and coins
Precious metals declined on Tuesday

Gold and silver were little changed in quiet trading Tuesday. Many investors stuck to the sidelines ahead of Wednesday’s release of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) policy statement.

Gold for December delivery slipped 40 cents to settle at $1,165.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold prices ranged from a low of $1,160.50 to a high of $1,168.80. They advanced on Monday by 0.3%.

"If the Fed leans toward a rate hike in December, gold could come under pressure again," MarketWatch quoted Mark O’Byrne, research director at GoldCore in Dublin. "However, if it leans toward raising rates next year, then gold would be expected to eke out further gains."

The policy-setting FOMC kicked off its two-day meeting on Tuesday and will release its statement at 2 p.m. ET on Wednesday. Most do not expect an immediate increase in interest rates but investors are looking for any hints about when the FOMC could pull that trigger.

Silver for December delivery shed 4 cents, or less than 0.3%, to settle at $15.86 an ounce. Silver prices traded from $15.78 to $15.93. They turned up 0.5% in the previous session.

In PGM futures on Tuesday:

  • January platinum declined $8.30, or 0.8%, to $989.20 an ounce, ranging from $983.60 to $998.60.

  • Palladium for December delivery settled down $5.15, or 0.8%, to $678.75 an ounce, trading between $675 and $683.90.

London Precious Metals Prices

Earlier fixed London gold and silver prices also declined modestly. In comparing their prices from Monday PM to Tuesday PM:

  • Gold fell 70 cents, or less than 0.1%, to $1,165.70 an ounce.
  • Silver lost 6 cents, or less than 0.4%, to $15.80 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 October

United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged Tuesday as of 4:18 PM ET. 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)
Tuesday Sales / This Week Last Week Sept Sales Oct Sales YTD Sales
$50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins 0 2,500 98,500 22,500 542,500
$25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins 0 1,000 9,000 3,000 66,000
$10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins 0 0 20,000 4,000 146,000
$5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins 0 10,000 175,000 45,000 875,000
$50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins 0 1,500 22,000 10,000 180,500
$1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins 0 926,500 3,804,500 2,931,500 38,986,000
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
2015 Bombay Hook 5 Oz Silver Coins* 45,000 45,000
Subscribe
Notify of
guest

3 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Steve G

YTD silver eagle count is a week old. Doesn’t the Mint update that every day?

Mike Unser (CoinNews.net)

The Mint does update bullion figures daily but there are occasionally instances, like this Thursday, where sales are muted for several days. I would be surprised if figures didn’t advance by the end of Wednesday or Thursday, however. An entire one-week drought is rare.

Steve G

Thank you. Keep up the good work.