Gold Bounces From 5-Month Low; Rises More After Fed Raises Rates

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Seven Gold Bars
While platinum edged lower, silver, gold and palladium advanced

Precious metals futures ended mostly higher Wednesday, led by gains in silver and gold. The pair moved further ahead in after-hours trading following the FOMC announcement to raise interest rates.

Gold for February delivery gained $6.90, or 0.6%, to close at $1,248.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Gold futures traded from a low of $1,242.30 to a high of $1,249.60. They lost 0.4% in the previous session — ending at their worst level since July 17, and dipped 0.1% on Monday.

In electronic trading after the Fed statement, the precious metal was above $1,255 an ounce.

"The FOMC statement said more interest rate increases are likely in the coming months, but said inflation remains surprisingly tame," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a daily bullion report. "That is leading some to believe the Fed may not be able to raise interest rates as rapidly as it would like, in the coming months."

In another report Wednesday, the U.S. Labor Department said consumer prices rose 0.4% in November with the annual inflation rate climbing to 2.2% from 2%.

Meanwhile, silver for March delivery tacked on 20.1 cents, or 1.3%, to close at $15.869 an ounce. Silver futures ranged from $15.68 to $15.81. They fell 0.7% on Tuesday — closing at their lowest price since July 10, and shed 0.2% in their start to the week on Monday. Silver was last at $16.05.

In PGM futures on Wednesday:

  • January platinum slipped 30 cents, or less than 0.1%, to $875.40 an ounce, trading between $872.80 and $880.80.

  • Palladium for March delivery added $1.70, or 0.2%, to $1,004.05 an ounce, ranging from $997.35 to $1,004.30

London Precious Metals Prices

In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM:

  • Gold gained $1.75, or 0.1%, to 1,242.65 an ounce.
  • Silver declined 7.5 cents, or 0.5%, to $15.705 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

United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged as of 3:00 p.m. ET. 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 November December YTD
$100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin 0 0 0 0 0 20,000
$25 American Eagle 1 Oz Palladium Coin* 0 0 0 0 0 15,000
$50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin 0 0 28,000 9,500 28,000 218,500
$25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin 0 0 3,000 2,000 3,000 37,000
$10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin 0 0 4,000 2,000 4,000 64,000
$5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin 0 10,000 15,000 10,000 25,000 395,000
$50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin 0 1,000 10,500 2,000 11,500 97,000
$1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin 0 120,000 622,000 385,000 742,000 18,065,500
2017 Effigy Mounds 5 Oz Silver Coin 0 0 0 0 0 35,000
2017 Frederick Douglass 5 Oz Silver Coin 0 0 0 0 0 20,000
2017 Ozark Riverways 5 Oz Silver Coin 0 0 0 0 0 20,000
2017 Ellis Island 5 Oz Silver Coin* 0 0 0 0 0 40,000
2017 George Rogers Clark 5 Oz Silver Coin 0 0 0 32,400 0 32,400
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