Gold and silver fell for a second straight session Wednesday after both soared to start the week.
Gold for August delivery declined $15, or 1.1%, to settle at $1,319.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The decline was the largest for a day since July 5. Gold prices ranged from an intraday low of $1,312.70 to a high of $1,348.70 an ounce.
"It’s probably just fast money taking profits after the most recent run," MarketWatch quoted Adam Koos, president of Libertas Wealth Management Group.
On one hand, anytime you see pullbacks like this, it can mean that "the demand just isn’t there for a momentum shift," said Koos. "On the other hand, it could just be a healthy exhale and potential buying opportunity."
Gold in the previous session dipped $1.30. On Monday, gold futures surged $43.10 to score their biggest daily gain since June 29, 2012.
Silver tracked gold. Silver for September delivery shed 23.4 cents, or 1.2%, to $20.02, trading between $19.97 and $20.49. Prices dropped in the prior session by 25.5 cents, or 1.2%. On Monday, silver rallied $1.05, or 5.4%.
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
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Climbing for a second day, October platinum tacked on $12.10, or 0.8%, to finish at $1,455.20 an ounce. Platinum ranged from $1,441.60 to $1,464.60.
- Sister metal palladium also rose. Palladium for September added $5.85, or, 0.8%, to $745.305 an ounce, trading between $735.55 and $750.50.
London Fix Precious Metals
London precious metals advanced. In contrasting the Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM London fixings:
- Gold inched up $1.50, or 0.1%, to $1,335 an ounce,
- Silver added 21.5 cents, or 1.1%, to $20.40 an ounce,
- Platinum gained $20, or 1.4%, to $1,444 an ounce, and
- Palladium climbed $4, or 0.5%, to $738 an ounce
US Bullion Coin Sales in July
Sales totals for United States Mint bullion products were unchanged for a second day Wednesday. Advances on Monday were average for gold coins and racing for silver coins. The following table offers daily, July and year-to-date bullion coin totals as published by the U.S. Mint on its website.
| American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Coin Sales | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday Sales | Last Week | Week-To-Date Sales | July Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 6,500 | 4,000 | 30,500 | 575,000 |
| $25 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4,000 | 47,000 |
| $10 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 6,000 | 92,000 |
| $5 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 10,000 | 0 | 25,000 | 440,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | 13,500 | 175,000 |
| White Mountain 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 1,100 | 0 | 2,900 | 29,900 |
| Perry’s Victory 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 2,400 | 800 | 6,600 | 20,800 |
| Great Basin 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 1,200 | 0 | 7,500 | 17,400 |
| American Silver Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 875,000 | 925,000 | 3,456,500 | 28,500,000 |
Figures above are in the number of coins sold, not in ounces.
