For a second straight session Wednesday, gold, silver and platinum advanced while palladium declined. Overall, the metals logged little change.
Gold for August delivery added $2.20 cents, or 0.2%, to settle at $1,249.10 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Gold prices ended the U.S. day session with minor gains Wednesday, boosted in part by the sharp drop in the U.S. dollar index the past two days that pushed it to a seven-month today," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a report. "Some short covering in the futures market and perceived value-buying in the cash market were featured again today, after gold and silver prices hit multi-week lows earlier this week."
Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,246.70 to a high of 1,255.70. They edged up 0.04% on Tuesday and slipped 0.8% on Monday.
Meanwhile, silver for July delivery gained 13.9 cents, or 0.8%, to settle at $16.727 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $16.61 and $16.83. They rose 0.1% in the previous session and fell 0.5% in their start to the week on Monday.
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
-
July platinum added $3, or 0.3%, to $921.70 an ounce, ranging from $916.60 to $926.30.
- Palladium for September delivery declined $3.75, or 0.4%, to $854.60 an ounce, trading between $851.40 and $863.70.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM:
- Gold fell $1.55, or 0.1%, to $1,248 an ounce.
- Silver rose 12 cents, or 0.7%, to $16.78 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
US Mint Bullion Sales in 2017
U.S. Mint bullion sales have been unchanged since their gains on Monday. Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. bullion products with columns listing the number of coins sold during varying periods. Products with an asterisk (*) are no longer available.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday | Last Week | This Week | May | June | YTD | |
| $100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 2,000 | 500 | 10,000 | 3,500 | 140,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 27,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 48,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 10,000 | 30,000 | 20,000 | 260,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin | 0 | 0 | 500 | 5,000 | 1,500 | 65,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 272,000 | 205,000 | 2,455,000 | 911,000 | 12,158,500 |
| 2017 Effigy Mounds 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 6,300 | 0 | 5,600 | 8,800 | 35,000 |
| 2017 Frederick Douglass 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2,400 | 0 | 20,000 |
| 2017 Ozark Riverways 5 Oz Silver Coin | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A/ | 20,000 | 20,000 |
