Precious Metals Pulverized Wed., Aug. 15

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Two gold bullion bars
Settlements lows in gold, silver, palladium and platinum ranged from more than one and a half years to nearly ten years

Precious metals futures sank Wednesday with losses ranging from 1.3% for gold to 5.9% for palladium. Gold dropped to a more than 18-month low while silver marked its worst finish in over 30 months. Elsewhere, palladium ended near a 13-month low while platinum dropped to its worst point in nearly a decade.

Gold for December delivery declined $15.70, or 1.3%, to end at $1,185 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement is the lowest since Jan. 9, 2017, when prices ended at $1,184.90 an ounce.

"The story for gold is very much about dollar strength and emerging market weakness," Reuters quoted Mitsubishi analyst Jonathan Butler.

"It’s risk aversion, which is something that should be supportive of gold, but … this is happening in an environment where the dollar is looking very strong relative to other major currencies and emerging market currencies."

Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,181.70 to a high of $1,202. They added 0.2% on Tuesday and dropped 1.7% on Monday.

Meanwhile, silver for September lost 59.9 cents, or 4%, to settle at $14.454 an ounce. The settlement is the worst since Feb. 2, 2016 when the precious metal ended at $14.289 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $14.34 and $15.07. They rose 0.5% on Tuesday and tumbled 2.1% on Monday.

In PGM futures on Wednesday:

  • October platinum fell $29.80, or 3.7%, to $771.90 an ounce — the lowest close since late 2008, ranging from $756.60 to $802.90.

  • Palladium for September delivery plunged $52.80, or 5.9%, to $837.20 an ounce— its worst settlement since July 7, 2017, trading between $823.40 and $889.60.

London Precious Metals Prices

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

  • Gold declined $15, or 1.3%, to 1,182 an ounce.
  • Silver fell 21 cents, or 1.4%, to $14.825 an ounce.

LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.

US Mint Bullion Sales in 2018

United States Mint bullion sales advanced by 40,000 ounces in American Silver Eagles. Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of coins sold during varying periods.

US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins)
Wednesday Last Week This Week July August 2018 Sales
$100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin 0 0 0 0 0 30,000
$50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin 0 6,000 2,000 31,500 8,500 127,500
$25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin 0 0 0 1,000 0 18,000
$10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin 0 0 0 2,000 0 50,000
$5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin 0 0 0 25,000 0 150,000
$50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin 0 9,000 1,500 24,500 11,000 89,000
$1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin 40,000 235,000 265,000 885,000 530,000 8,237,500
Pictured Rocks 5 Oz Silver Coin 0 0 0 0 0 30,000
Apostle Islands 5 Oz Silver Coin 0 0 0 0 0 30,000
Voyageurs 5 Oz Silver Coin 0 0 0 0 0 30,000

 

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Chas Barber

Indeed, yet the goons @ the USM still sell 1oz of silver (14.50’i$h spot) for 56= almost 4 times spot!!! Wow, can we all say ripp off together kids……I know they need to make $ but this ocnvoluted rehased issue of an S Proof ASE is as sexy as molasses…….unlimited mintage seals it’s doom…I’d say maybe 100k sell w/o any aftermarket of legs.. there is no way there are 100,000 Proof Ase collectors left in the bidness…