Gold and silver rallied Wednesday, snapping a three-session losing streak as uncertainty over U.S. budget talks lended support.
"Worries about the U.S. government shutting down are pushing people to gold," Phil Streible, a senior commodity broker at R.J. O’Brien & Associates in Chicago," said in a telephone interview according to Bloomberg.
Gold for December delivery settled up $19.90, or 1.5%, to $1,336.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold traded between $1,316.60 and $1,338.30.
"Comex gold futures prices put on a late-morning surge and held those gains, said Jim Wyckoff, senior analyst at Kitco.com, in a note. "The market saw more short-covering, bargain hunting and a technically related bounce following recent selling pressure."
Silver for December delivery added on 30 cents, or 1.4%, to $21.89 an ounce, ranging from $21.49 to $21.96.
"Silver futures prices showed little to no reaction to news Wednesday around midday that the U.S. government (Commodity Futures Trading Commission) closed its years-long probe into manipulation of the silver futures market, saying it had no hard evidence that such had occurred," added Wyckoff.
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
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October platinum climbed $10, or 0.7%, to $1,428.80 an ounce, trading between $1,422.50 and $1,436.10.
- Palladium for December delivery gained $5.70, or 0.8%, to $725.70 an ounce, ranging from $717.40 to $726.30.
London Fix Precious Metals
London bullion fixings advanced across the board for the first time in four days. When comparing the Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM London fix prices:
- Gold added $8.50, or 0.6%, to $1,322.75 an ounce,
- Silver gained 24 cents, or 1.1%, to $21.68 an ounce,
- Platinum rose $4, or 0.3%, to $1,426 an ounce, and
- Palladium turned up $6, or 0.8%, to $719 an ounce
U.S. Mint Bullion Sales in September
Sales totals were unchanged Wednesday for bullion products from the United States Mint. In coin totals are the latest daily, September and year-to-date U.S. Mint bullion sales figures:
American Eagle and Buffalo Bullion Sales | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wednesday Sales | Last Week | Week-To-Date Sales | September Sales | YTD Sales | |
$50 American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 3,000 | 2,000 | 8500 | 605,000 |
$25 American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 1,000 | 3,000 | 5,000 | 53,000 |
$10 American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 2,000 | 4,000 | 104,000 |
$5 American Gold Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10,000 | 465,000 |
$50 American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coins | 0 | 1,000 | 3,500 | 9,000 | 199,000 |
White Mountain 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3,800 | 35,000 |
Perry’s Victory 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,400 | 25,000 |
Great Basin 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3,000 | 25,000 |
Fort McHenry 5 oz. Silver Bullion Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14,700 | 25,000 |
American Silver Eagle Bullion Coins | 0 | 675,000 | 656,500 | 2,506,500 | 35,581,500 |