Precious Metals Gain Wed., Nov. 7

Gains in gold and silver were their first since last Thursday

Precious metals futures advanced Wednesday. Gains in gold and silver were their first in four sessions.

Gold for December delivery rose $2.40, or 0.2%, to settle at $1,228.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

"Gold and silver prices are slightly higher, but well down from earlier daily highs, in early-afternoon U.S. trading Wednesday," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a report. "The metals were lifted by a drop in the U.S. dollar index today."

Gold futures ranged from a low of $1,224.20 to a high of $1,238.40. They lost 0.5% on Tuesday and dipped less than 0.1% on Monday.

Silver for December delivery gained 6.9 cents, or 0.5%, to settle at $14.569 an ounce. Silver futures traded between $14.47 and $14.73. They fell 1% on Tuesday and lost 0.7% on Monday.

In PGM futures on Wednesday:

January platinum added $7.30, or 0.8%, to $878.80 an ounce, ranging from $869.70 to $881.50.
Palladium for December delivery jumped $25.40, or 2.3%, to $1,120.70 an ounce, trading between $1,098 and $1,118.70. On Monday, they closed just $1.20 away from an all-time record.

London Precious Metals Prices

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

Gold fell $1.65, or 0.1%, to 1,229.95 an ounce.
Silver declined 3 cents, or 0.2%, to $14.67 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 registered their first gains of the month. Advances included a combined 8,000 ounces in American Eagle and Buffalo gold coins and 405,000 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 / November	Last Week	September	October	2018 Sales
$100 American Eagle 1 Oz Platinum Coin*	0	0	0	0	30,000
$50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coin	4,000	2,500	14,500	21,000	176,000
$25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coin	2,000	0	2,000	4,000	30,000
$10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coin	0	2,000	4,000	2,000	60,000
$5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coin	10,000	0	40,000	10,000	220,000
$50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coin	2,000	1,500	11,000	6,500	116,500
$1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coin	405,000	75,000	2,897,500	1,430,000	13,970,000
Pictured Rocks 5 Oz Silver Coin*	0	0	0	0	30,000
Apostle Islands 5 Oz Silver Coin*	0	0	0	0	30,000
Voyageurs 5 Oz Silver Coin*	0	0	0	0	30,000
Cumberland Island 5 Oz Silver Coin	0	0	52,500	0	52,500

This article was edited to include updated U.S. Mint bullion figures. In addition to the first figures for November, the agency updated American Eagle gold and silver sales for October.