Gold and silver advanced in pre-holiday trading Wednesday. Gold for December delivery added $4.60, or 0.3%, to $1,728.20 an ounce on the Comex in New York. Prices traded through an intraday range of $1,718.40 to $1,732.00.
Precious metals were lifted by the IMF’s monthly statistics report that showed central banks added to their gold reserves in October.
"Central banks are buying gold to hedge against record and historic government stimulus," MarketWatch quoted Jeb Handwerger, a natural-resource analyst and editor of GoldStockTrades.com.
"Investors are beginning to realize the fears of the fiscal-cliff meltdown may be overblown… Any conciliatory agreement could lead to a major risk-on inflationary rally, which could boost gold and silver prices into new highs."
In other New York bullion futures:
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Silver for December delivery gained 42.0 cents, or 1.3%, to $33.350 an ounce, ranging from $32.825 to $33.395.
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Platinum for January delivery closed at $1,583.90 an ounce, rising $10.90 or 0.7%. The PGM metal traded between $1,567.10 and $1,584.60.
- Palladium for December delivery rallied $12.95, or 2.0%, to $651.30 an ounce, ranging from $631.10 to $654.30.
London Bullion Prices
Precious metals in London were lower except for palladium which remained unchanged. In contrasting the latest PM Fix prices:
- Gold fell $8.25, or 0.5%, to $1,724.00 an ounce,
- Silver declined 18.0 cents, or 0.5%, to $33.01 an ounce,
- Platinum lost $5.00, or 0.3%, to $1,572.00 an ounce, and
- Palladium was unchanged at $640.00 an ounce
US Bullion Coin Sales in November
Sales of U.S. Mint bullion coins rose Wednesday, marking four straight days of gains. American Eagle silver coins jumped 225,000 with sales now approaching 2.6 million for the month, which is nearly double the level from November 2011 and on track to surpass the nearly 3.2 million sold in October. American Eagle gold coins advanced by 4,000 ounces to 67,000 ounces in November, already well higher than last month and November 2011.
The following table lists the newest daily, November and year-to-date bullion sales as published by the U.S. Mint.
| US Mint American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Coin Sales | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Sales | November Sales | YTD 2012 | |
| $50 American Eagle Gold Coins | 3,500 | 61,500 | 526,000 |
| $25 American Eagle Gold Coins | 0 | 3,000 | 66,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Gold Coins | 0 | 4,000 | 70,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Gold Coins | 5,000 | 30,000 | 310,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Gold Coins | 1,000 | 10,000 | 117,500 |
| American Silver Eagle Coin | 225,000 | 2,584,500 | 31,532,500 |
| America the Beautiful 5 Oz. Silver Bullion Coin Sales | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Sales | November Sales | All-Time Total | |
| 2012 El Yunque National Forest 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 1,800 | 19,900 |
| 2012 Chaco Culture National Historical Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 1,800 | 20,000 |
| 2012 Acadia National Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 500 | 22,300 |
| 2012 Hawai’i Volcanoes 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 5,000 | 20,000 |
| 2012 Denali National Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 3,600 | 6,100 | 18,600 |
| 2011 Olympic National Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 85,900 |
| 2011 Vicksburg National Military Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 39,500 |
| 2011 Chickasaw Park 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 29,700 |
| TOTAL | 3,600 | 15,200 | 255,900 |
Bullion sales above are in the number of coins sold, not the amount of ounces.
