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.
