Gold and silver futures ended lower on Wednesday and for the third time in four sessions as investors turned toward stocks.
Gold for June delivery shed $5.80, or 0.5%, to settle at $1,223.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Safe-haven gold prices ended the U.S. day session moderately lower," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a report. "There was less risk aversion in the marketplace on this day, which kept the yellow metal bulls on the defensive."
Gold prices ranged from a low $1,217.20 to a high of $1,233.80. In the prior session, they advanced 0.8%.
Minutes from the Federal Reserve’s March policy meeting were released Wednesday after normal trading hours. Holding no real surprises, they had little impact on gold in later electronic trading.
Silver for May delivery declined 6.2 cents, or 0.4%, to close at $15.054 an ounce. Silver prices traded between $14.92 and $15.20. On Tuesday, they jumped 1.2%.
In other precious futures on Wednesday:
-
July platinum fell $6.90, or 0.7%, to $944.70 an ounce, ranging from $942.40 to $961.60.
- Palladium for June delivery declined $5.70, or 1.1%, to $537.95 an ounce, trading between $537 and $556.95.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM:
- Gold fell $9.85, or 0.8%, to $1,221.40 an ounce.
- Silver fell 12 cents, or 0.8%, to $15.07 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2016
U.S. Mint bullion sales were unchanged Wednesday but they did advance late on Tuesday. Those gains included:
- 4,000 ounces in American Gold Eagles,
- 1,500 ounces in American Gold Buffalo coins, and
- 355,500 ounces in American Silver Eagles.
The U.S. Mint this week limited sales of American Silver Eagles to 1,042,500 coins, which includes 42,500 left over from last week’s allocation. The agency’s bullion distributors ordered 96.5% of them through Wednesday, leaving 36,000 until more become available next week. Their cumulative total for the year stands at 15,964,000 coins, or 25.7% more than through the same time in record year 2015.
Below is a sales breakdown of United States Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of bullion coins sold during varying periods of time.
US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wednesday Sales | Tuesday Sales | Last Week | This Week | Mar Sales | Apr Sales | 2016 Sales | |
$50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 3,000 | 6,000 | 10,000 | 29,000 | 11,000 | 196,500 |
$25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 1,000 | 0 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 31,000 |
$10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 2,000 | 4,000 | 2,000 | 54,000 |
$5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 25,000 | 10,000 | 75,000 | 10,000 | 330,000 |
$50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 1,500 | 2,000 | 2,000 | 7,000 | 2,000 | 62,000 |
$1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 355,500 | 957,500 | 1,006,500 | 4,106,000 | 1,121,500 | 15,964,000 |
2016 Shawnee 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 105,000 |